Which Countries Require Shoe Removal?
 

In my experience I can only recall:

- US all shoes, all checkpoints (with exceptions made for certain travellers)
- Canada, for US destinations only
- UK only for certain shoes (generally boots or bulky shoes)
- ICN (for US bound flights)
- Phillipines
- various airports for US bound flights

I did a search but cannot find a thread about this topic. Does any other country require shoe removal for all passengers? I cannot recall any in my somewhat broad experience.

Also note that I am asking for actual requirements, not people who voluntarily remove their shoes when not required to do so.

Summer travel season has begun, and I can tell you that there were jams at FRA over the weekend thanks to people removing their shoes when they are not required to do so (even after being told by security and by certain 'helpful' fellow passengers)

Edited to request that if you are going to post a country which required you to remove your shoes if you could also provide information including if you were flying to the US, and if on a US carrier. Thank you.

Shoe removal is mandatory at Dublin & Shannon Airports if traveling to the USA only. This shoe carnival is held at the second screening point after US C&BP pre-clearance facilities in these airports. It must be mandated by the US TSA.

Goodness gracious me.

Those poor other countries must have aircraft being blown out of the sky left and right if they're not using the Ultimate SSI TSA Shoe Protocols.

(This post closed-captioned for the sarcasm-impaired.)

It's actually really sad to see little American children conditioned to shoe removal in Europe. Last year at LHR a little boy was almost frantic because his mother didn't remove her shoes. (She didn't need to)

In Germany last week there was a mother with five children in front of me; the oldest was about 8-9 and asked 'Mommy, do we need to take our shoes off again?' and Mommy said 'Yes'. I piped up with 'actually, here you do not' but Mommy ignored me. The little girl turned around and I pointed out several people going through the WTMD without removing their shoes.

Just then Bob and his wife cut the line in front of Mommy, and Bob promptly removed his lace ups and ordered his wife to do the same, even though security told him it wasn't necessary. This caused a chain reaction of shoe removal and Mommy had the child help remove four other pairs of shoes.

I felt really bad, but I walked through as I do every time without taking off my shoes.

Shoe Removal?
 

==================================================
:eek: IF you travel in Mexico you can usually tell the USA folks as they are always removing their shoes. And if you do not remove them chances are someone may comment. I love to tell them its NOT required.
To be treated with more respect and civility than within the US I always used to fly from Tijuana to SJD, GDL, PVR or wherever and back.
It is sooo much more pleasant!:)

I believe any preclearance facility requires this as a condition of entry to the secure side upon landing at a US airport.

I think it's more amusing to see my fellow Americans in security checkpoints around the world, shoeless, while everyone else waltzes through. The US air travelers are indeed conditioned to remove their shoes as well as everything else: belts, scarves, jackets, etc.

I don't know why the hysteria with shoes started at the same time as the war on water. Remember, shoes had been 'dangerous' since December 2001. Before August 2006, TSA recommended shoe removal but didn't require it. My experience was that it was more of a 'requirement' at larger airports than smaller ones. TSOs at small airports would never say anything, but I remember the TSOs at DTW and ORD would bark at everyone "SHOES OFF! SHOES OFF!" Perhaps they used the war on water as an excuse to unify the policy across all airports.

I think the TSA shoe fetish is the thing I like the least behind the war on water. I know where I walk throughout the day, and do you really want to place your laptop neoprene case, your kippie bag, or your jacket in the same bins of shoes that were walking around in a dirty restroom floor 5 minutes earlier? Of course, I guess that's why there are those "SHOES ON THE BELT!!!" airports... ;)

The problem though is that they cause back ups at security where there usually are none. MUC usually has very short lines but these can back up if one is behind several shoe-removers (which always seem to be lace up shoes)

I did ask the security guard at FRA on the weekend why she wasn't more forceful but she rightfully so said that I could see it had little impact. People just were not going to listen to her (or to me), just like they disregard the signs at LHR.

It was recently required at BRU at the entrance to the non-Schengen concourse.

Hmmm... Would it be unreasonable to state that ONLY the USA requires shoes off, and everyone else is merely submitting to this requirement?

I could have phrased this more rudely.

My wife flew out of Calgary several times this year and they did not ask her to remove her shoes. However she did have to remove her laptop from the new open flat bag that the TSA lets you leave your laptop in here. :rolleyes:

We flew out of CDG in Paris in February and shoes were not removed.

Sri Lanka / Colombo, for any flights apparently shoes-off

Were these flights to the US?

Generally speaking, if you depart form Canada, you are not required to remove your shoes, unless you fly to the USA.. Not sure how inter-European flights are, but I was asked to remove my shoes during security for a MAD-JFK flight.

Yes, from BRU, I was going to the U.S., but it was required at the entrance to the concourse for all non-Schengen flights.

This is true even for flights from Canada to South American destinations, which spend many hours in US airspace. Scary to think of all those plane-fulls of passengers who did not remove their shoes flying over the US, isn't it? :rolleyes: