Hygiene: Can I request not to take my shoes off?
Jul 26, 2007, 11:16 am
#31
Moderator: Smoking Lounge; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: SFO
Programs: Lifetime (for now) Gold MM, HH Gold, Giving Tootsie Pops to UA employees, & a retired hockey goalie
Posts: 28,878
and i would have told them that tsa policy is that if there is no alarm with shoes on, it is a swab and that's it. the patdown is fine as i run about 50/50 with it but they need to have cause to look in your bag-either SSSS or something showed up on the x-ray machine (and they are required to tell you what they are looking at/for).
Jul 26, 2007, 1:19 pm
#32
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
Posts: 13,644
they were flat out wrong and i would have told them that tsa policy is that if there is no alarm with shoes on, it is a swab and that's it. the patdown is fine as i run about 50/50 with it but they need to have cause to look in your bag-either SSSS or something showed up on the x-ray machine (and they are required to tell you what they are looking at/for).
and i would have told them that tsa policy is that if there is no alarm with shoes on, it is a swab and that's it. the patdown is fine as i run about 50/50 with it but they need to have cause to look in your bag-either SSSS or something showed up on the x-ray machine (and they are required to tell you what they are looking at/for).Thanks!
Mike
Jul 26, 2007, 2:42 pm
#33
Suspended
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,953
they were flat out wrong and i would have told them that tsa policy is that if there is no alarm with shoes on, it is a swab and that's it. the patdown is fine as i run about 50/50 with it but they need to have cause to look in your bag-either SSSS or something showed up on the x-ray machine (and they are required to tell you what they are looking at/for).
and i would have told them that tsa policy is that if there is no alarm with shoes on, it is a swab and that's it. the patdown is fine as i run about 50/50 with it but they need to have cause to look in your bag-either SSSS or something showed up on the x-ray machine (and they are required to tell you what they are looking at/for).
Jul 26, 2007, 4:59 pm
#34
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: NY
Posts: 36
Excellent suggestion! Better yet, if everyone refused to go shoeless on a particular day, they'd really get the message. It could be called "National Shoe Day" or something like that. The TSA couldn't ground everybody for refusing to participate in their sick and disgusting ritual, which has absolutely nothing to do with security.
Jul 27, 2007, 3:20 pm
#35
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Northwest Georgia
Programs: Delta, Hilton, ICH, Hertz
Posts: 302
Excellent suggestion! Better yet, if everyone refused to go shoeless on a particular day, they'd really get the message. It could be called "National Shoe Day" or something like that. The TSA couldn't ground everybody for refusing to participate in their sick and disgusting ritual, which has absolutely nothing to do with security.
Jul 27, 2007, 3:36 pm
#36
Moderator: Midwest, Las Vegas & Dining Buzz
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posts: 17,976
Jul 27, 2007, 4:51 pm
#37
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: NY
Posts: 36
Maybe he would. Of course, that would cause an enormous outpouring of protest from the airlines, not to mention the abundance of outrage from most pax. It would certainly help to make the public aware of just how useless and unsanitary the shoe carnival is.
Jul 27, 2007, 10:51 pm
#38
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 31
Jul 27, 2007, 11:11 pm
#39
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: AA, WN RR
Posts: 3,122
The United States is a developed country. Here, people normally do not walk around in public buildings barefoot or in their stocking feet. As another poster mentioned, winter weather means sloppy conditions. Most airport restrooms have liquid of one sort or another on the floors, which liquid then gets tracked all over, including the floors at checkpoints. There is a reason why life expectancy has historically been lower in Afghanistan than it is here in the United States.
Jul 28, 2007, 5:48 am
#40
Suspended
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,953
Better yet, if everyone refused to go shoeless on a particular day, they'd really get the message. It could be called "National Shoe Day" or something like that. The TSA couldn't ground everybody for refusing to participate in their sick and disgusting ritual, which has absolutely nothing to do with security.
Jul 28, 2007, 7:08 am
#41
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Augusta, GA, USA
Programs: DL FC, NW
Posts: 3,522
Jul 28, 2007, 8:48 am
#42
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: BWI
Programs: AA Gold, HH Diamond, National Emerald Executive, TSA Disparager Gold
Posts: 15,180
I thought it was ridiculous my 2 year old son's sandals had to be removed.
Jul 28, 2007, 10:23 am
#43
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: In the corner plotting world domination
Programs: 1K
Posts: 1,122
The United States is a developed country. Here, people normally do not walk around in public buildings barefoot or in their stocking feet. As another poster mentioned, winter weather means sloppy conditions. Most airport restrooms have liquid of one sort or another on the floors, which liquid then gets tracked all over, including the floors at checkpoints. There is a reason why life expectancy has historically been lower in Afghanistan than it is here in the United States.
DD
Jul 28, 2007, 11:29 am
#44
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,114
I agree that this is a highly disgusting behaviour we're being demanded to follow. So, my question is: Why doesn't the Health Department get involved?? Certainly people from there also travel and have to go through the shoe carnival - how can they not see what we see and do something about it?
DD
DD
I would say about 99% of passengers who take their shoes off on board don't put them back on before going to the toilet - there is your health risk.
I see it all the time and the only good thing to come out of that is I don't need to mop the toilet floors since all the passengers socks are doing it for me! (of course I still clean the floor - just making a point)
Taking your shoes off for 5 seconds should be the least of your worries. If your putting a plastic cover over your feet, make sure you put one on your seat, on the plane floor, on the... actually would someone invent a plane condom - that way we can all be safe!
Jul 28, 2007, 11:54 am
#45
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: In the corner plotting world domination
Programs: 1K
Posts: 1,122
I think a short walk with shoes off is hardly going to be a health risk (for those without a medical condition) even less of a risk if your wearing socks.
I would say about 99% of passengers who take their shoes off on board don't put them back on before going to the toilet - there is your health risk.
I see it all the time and the only good thing to come out of that is I don't need to mop the toilet floors since all the passengers socks are doing it for me! (of course I still clean the floor - just making a point)
Taking your shoes off for 5 seconds should be the least of your worries. If your putting a plastic cover over your feet, make sure you put one on your seat, on the plane floor, on the... actually would someone invent a plane condom - that way we can all be safe!
I would say about 99% of passengers who take their shoes off on board don't put them back on before going to the toilet - there is your health risk.
I see it all the time and the only good thing to come out of that is I don't need to mop the toilet floors since all the passengers socks are doing it for me! (of course I still clean the floor - just making a point)
Taking your shoes off for 5 seconds should be the least of your worries. If your putting a plastic cover over your feet, make sure you put one on your seat, on the plane floor, on the... actually would someone invent a plane condom - that way we can all be safe!
I find it a truely disgusting process. And then we get to put our feet back in our shoes. I don't even walk around my own home (or any other) without slippers on my feet.
As for pax going to the lav in stocking feet... Eeeeewwww! Some people weren't brought up - they were dragged!
Actually, if that is their choice, who am I to judge? It's what I choose for myself and what I am being obliged to do to which I am objecting.DD