What to do about the shoe carnival - an attempt at clarification
 

I have read all the threads related to the shoe carnival at many airports and have surmised the following:

Shoes do not have to be removed if:

1 - their soles are less than 1" thick

and

2 - they do not contain metal

Those two items will qualify as SOP for shoe removal.

Now, the reality is that many airports make us all remove ALL shoes (sometimes even flimsy flip flops). If that occurs and you state to the screener that your shoes do not fall into the SOP cateogry for shoe removal, but they insist on sending you to secondary screening, your recourse is:

1 - ask for a supervisor for clarification; and

2 - if that doesn't work, call over the screening manager.

Finally, make sure you fill out a complaint form and have the manager/supervisor also fill out an incident form. Do you do this while holding up the line or while you are going through secondary screening?

Now, the questions - even if shoes do not fall into the SOP category, aren't the screeners allowed to 'randomly' select pax for secondary screening? Can't that be used as an excuse for this entire shoe carnival atmosphere? If this is such a widespread problem that is obvious at so many airports, why hasn't the TSA admin done anything to increase the awareness of SOPs and require that they be followed? All that happens is longer lines and more frustrated pax due to serious inconsistencies in the approach (I've even had a supervisor tell me point blank that he doesn't care since he's quitting in two weeks and it's my problem, not his).

Seems to me that the TSA is becoming another government bureaucracy that claims its workers are following the rules, but in reality has seemingly no control over what actually happens at the airports. Does anyone really think that filing complaints and having incidents reports will accomplish anything? I'll give this approach a shot next week when I leave from CAE, which has been guilty of asking people to remove 1/2" flip flops and walk barefoot.

well
 

Since I work at an airport that has been deemed by FT as being a shoe carnival, I will say that there are screeners that seem to believe that all shoes should go through the X-Ray. They are warned about this in briefings but the leads and supervisors that are supposed to make on the spot rectification of these issues, dont care. Therefore the carnival goes on.

Why doesn't your FSD terminate these people?

The FSD must be, in fact, sanctioning the action - it's the FSD who should be fired.

Yes. And more and more screeners at IAD are starting to use the "continuous screening" excuse as a way to punish passengers who do not remove their non-profiled shoes.

The whole incompetent agency should be fired. :td:

*raises hand for being punished*

Yeah, me too. And they apparently wrote my name on the board and put a check mark by it for emphasis.

Interesting development at IAD -- flew in and out twice last week and both times heard the town crier stating "We are screening ALL ADULT shoes today. We recommend ALL ADULT shoes come off to save you time in additional screening, etc."

Once again, age discrimination takes its ugly toll ... :p

Cheers,

Hoya

well
 

Ignorance is bliss.

TSA is one extremely blissful bureaucracy! :td:

I complained from the time I refused to take off my shoes, continuously through secondary, and even after unsuccessfully trying to get a real complaint form. I wasn't even allowed through the metal detector to see if I beeped. Nope, straight to the secondary side door with me. They had no complaint forms at BWI that day. :rolleyes: If I had known my flight would be delayed two hours, I would have spent that complaining as well.

How conveeeenient...

More like their budget "ran out" and they can't print anymore. :mad:

Did you ask for a complaint form? If so, did you get the "email this guy" because they didn't have any complaint forms?

After that shoe carnival experience, that's just one more reason to avoid Dulles like the plague. I hate flying out of that airport as it's just a pain to get to and around in general.

Fortunately, my next three trips are out of BWI. Downside is that two of them involve terminal changes or origins in SFO which is even a bigger shoe carnival.

Shoe Fly! only in the USA?
 

I have traveled around the world and NO other country requires travelers to do the time-wasting and inconsistently-applied shoe dance at the security gates.

What stemmed from a years-ago incident has gone out of control.

Where I have not been made to do the Shoe Fly Dance:
australia
france
netherlands
uk
mexico
canada

Any other travelers have opinions about this? I blieve this is the TSA going AWOL again.