I don't understand why there is so much inconsistency. I have had the same thing in CVG. When I said that my shoes never set it off, the screener said "Well, you can go through with them on, but you will save yourself a lot of time by taking them off."

Not really knowing what that meant, I went through with them on and was immediately subjected to a secondary screening even though I did not set off the metal detectors. When I asked why this was never a problem in any other airport, I was told "We are one of the few airports that actually follows the rules correctly. It is more than just metal in the shoes that we are looking for."

How can these screeners say that it is TSA policy when it is stated on their website that shoe removal is not required? And how come only some airports know that they are looking for something else? And what is that something else???