Well, it's semi-official. The "shoe criterium" at DEN is "on feet".

I was told that they recommend all passengers take their shoes off. I told the screener mine don't contain metal. He replied that it wasn't metal they were looking for. I told him that there was no amount of material that could be hidden in shoes that could not be hidden in or on a person, to which he replied "right" and looked smug. What an imbecile.

I'd like to nominate Patrick Ahlstrom, the FSD at DEN as Security ... Clown of the Year for 2004. Punk Ahlstrom would join such prestigious former ... Clowns of the Year including Norman Y. Mineta and Admiral James Loy.

This candy-... is actually bringing in screeners from COS to keep up with the passenger volumes at peak times. I wonder how much overtime and travel reimbursement he is costing the taxpayers while he engages in his sicko shoe fetish perversion??

Patrick Ahlstrom, you are truly a disgrace to the United States of America. Should you win Security ... Clown of 2004, you'll be eligible for all kinds of great prizes including having to opportunity for people to plant all kinds of shoes in your rear and a one-way ticket to your dream city of P'yongyang, North Korea.

Once again today I willingly went through secondary screening in Denver, simply because I do not want to remove my shoes. ANd before some of you start shouting at me please note I did not slow the process down for anyone else, except possible those who set off the detector behind me (or the others who do not like to be treated sub-human drones).
But there was one interesting twist today. Right before I stepped into tje dector a TSA employee stepped in front of me placed his bag on the belt and went through the detector (shoes on), he did not set the dector off and proceeded on his way. I then stepped into the detector and was sent to secondary screening. For those of you who may ask how I knew he was a TSA employee he was wearing his uniform (shirt and badge). I waited in the box for my screening sat down and took off my shoes and they were then hand checkedwithout a sound to be heard. What I do not understand if the shoes passed why I can not put thme back on before standing to have my body hand scanned ? Is this punishment for nat taking them off in the first place ? Give me a piar of slippers to slide into and you can have my shoes everyday. ANd why is denver the only place were it is mandatory ?
And this brings me to another of my pet pevees why can airport employees go around the lines, to the front (notice I did not say airline employees). I have been told so they can be on-time for work and in the same breath the same person told the paying passenger to get here sooner to clear security. Let's see is it more important to get the paying airline passenger through security or the hot dog vendo you decide.

1. check out spell checker

2. Employees are not subject to 2ndary unless they alarm

3. You have the right to wait for your shoes to be screened before you have to stand bare / sock footed. In fact, you can demand to have your shoes on before you stand to be screened

Any other crys or whines ?

1. ditto
2. so they can bring in as much explosives as they want. Just great!

re: bringing in screeners from COS

Why not eliminate the ridiculous position of bag turner / shoe reminder?

Every security lane at DEN has one. It's the person who's job it is to make sure your bag is on the belt and turned the right way (somehow passengers are capable of doing this at BOS and other airports) and to remind you to take off your shoes. That's it. I've never seen them do anything else.

Re: Asinine security for employees

I actually saw the screening manager/supervisor bypass security last Sunday. I was in line, went right up to the gate on the left side of the South checkpoint (where the wheelchairs go through) and just went right in. Glad to know that the TSA is so diligent.

So now we have it... those of us traveling thousands of miles every year face the shoe carnival at security at random airports for random reasons, but the minimum wage folks who work at the airport can wander through (unless they trigger the alarm). So pack whatever plastique you want in your shoes, airport workers, and stash it at the kiosk until your confederates show up to purchase a mocha and plastique to go.

Now where is the weakest link? I don't care how much background checking you can possibly do, turnover at the fast food places and so forth in the airport is high and it strikes me that half the airports are effectively giving out IDs like Cracker Jack prizes because you cannot possibly do good background checks in that kind of environment. (A thorough set of backgrounds takes several weeks to accomplish and I cannot imagine that Mickey D's is telling new hires to wait a couple weeks before they start.) And even so, the person may pass every check because they are clean, but if they can be influenced by others and incented (by threat of force or monetary gain), they will be compliant. And for that matter, there's nothing to say that they aren't simply a "sleeper" whose sole responsibility is to gain familiarity with the airport and its security processes -- the person you see every day, is the person you relax around.

And all the stupid shoe carnivals and SSSS checks will do us no good.

I was told the same thing at LGA. No matter what the "official" policy, shoe removal is now required at LGA. You will take them off before or after passing through the detector, but you will take them off.

What a bunch of horses' rear ends ...

File a complaint specifically naming the FSD of LGA. These horse's asses have to be held accountable for their un-American, useless, stupid actions.