Flew out of Newark yesterday, Sunday, December 12 to Atlanta on my way to Dallas. I always wear my shoes with no metal so I don't have to take them off. Despite everything I've read on this forum and on the TSA web site and in a response to my letter to TSA, I was "encouraged" to remove my shoes. When I told the screener that I've had these shoes checked by other TSA screeners and was told that I did not need to remove them, she informed me that if I did not remove them, I would be pulled aside for additional screening.

After removing my shoes and walking through, I immediately asked for a supervisor and told her what happened. I have to say she was polite and apologized for the inconvenience. She told me that the screener should not have told me that and that in the future I should just inform the screeners that if they have any concerns about my shoes they can check them with their "magic wand" (my words, not hers) when I walk through.

I'm getting fed up with this. Remove your shoes, don't remove your shoes. It's optional, it's mandatory. What the **** is going on here?

Criminal negligence. Expensive, un-American criminal negligence.

would the subject line be more akin to "Screener at Newark: Stop with the shoes already!"?

Welcome to the consistently inconsistent TSA.

No, he/she got it right the first time.

including the part where the screener suggested the person take off his shoes, and then the supervisor told the passenger that his perception of the rules was correct?

I have had the same problem at Newark. You cannot reason with morons. so I avoided EWR when I can.

Funny, we say the same thing.

I wish all airports would follow the same rules as well. But at the risk of overusing the line we have to do what the local managers/supervisors want us to do.

No it is not the location it is the system!

The shoes I wear that were fine going through RDU a month ago, were 'profiled' for three weeks yet last week they were fine.

And they have been intermittently profiled at BOS although have been OK for the last month there.

The system is broken. There is no standard. And worst of all there is no logic.

Well, I asked over at Screeners Central why they don't just give people a list of shoes that are no-removal shoes. The screener's answer was: "If we list certain shoes as no-removal shoes then those are the ones that the terrorists will put stuff into." Yet the TSA claims there is an objective standard of which shoes are profiled and which are not, so there is a de facto no-removal list. The terrorists have all the time and chances in the world to figure out what shoes are profiled. Even though passengers are experiencing inconsistency, the shoe carnival is in fact airport-specific and very predictable. Thus, by the screener's argument above, we're due for a massive shoe attack...

from the circumstantial example, from my understanding-the supervisor cleared up the discrepancy.

if that's the case, is the instance still a vehicle to complain about the shoe-checking as a whole?

or to make it more absolute, you can gurantee to not check shoes (making some happy) or have all shoes come off (making some unhappy as well).

less inconsistancies, and more regularity. you can write your congress rep. and ask for shoes not to be checked, or for a list of shoes that will never be checked.

Today at PBI, they were looking over the belt and telling everyone to remove their shoes, including the woman in front of me wearing sandals that were flats with just a single strap -- def not part of any profile.

I went through in my sneakers like I always do and no one said a word. I did chat a little with the TSA woman pre-xray and it was clear I had been through security plenty of times (bags were put in based on my order, stuff all ready to go, etc). This is a stupid and inconsistent process!!

Same happened to me this morning at IAD. One of the more overzealous screeners (who I've encountered before) barked to everybody "I suggest you remove your shoes." I replied, "my shoes have no sole thickness, so they'll be fine." He said "no matter, I still suggest you remove them."

Of course, I walked through the WTMD with no problem and the other agents standing around confirmed that my shoes were fine.

i'm not saying it's right, but "shoes off" and the line goes faster. most people are not frequent flyers, and do set off the metal detector with regularity. i try and see it from the "speed of the line" aspect. it still irks me when it's mandatory to take off shoes before you step inside though...

sidenote:

anyone ever see a woman with high heels try to walk through?

"ma'am you might want to take off your shoes-they have metal"

"no, they're ok"

*beep*

"do you want to try again?"

"ok"

"you might want to take off the shoes-they have metal"

"ewww... the floor is dirty"

*beep*

multiply by all of the other instances where people get held up in line, and add that to the wait time.