Nah, nah. No threat. YOUR implied consent, remember? Right there in the implied United States Constitution.

I'm beginning to learn it doesn't matter much to me at all if you are still willing to PAY for this crap and wait in line for these rats to make you bend over. Kinda amusing reading.

Going back to the OP's original question of what to say, I respond to the "recommendation" that shoes come off with "I'd prefer to keep them on." It's not a flat-out refusal; it's just a statement of my preference. Sometimes I'll hear "it will save you time [to take them off]", but I haven't ever gotten signifigant back-pressure.

The usual response, when the WTMD attendant says "no alarm" is the shoe-shine swab. Occasionally they'll go for wand and pat-down. And sometimes the screener takes my shows away for X-ray (sometimes only after wanding them and having the metal eyelets for the laces trigger the wand).

And I do complain if I ever get an order to remove my shoes in front of the WTMD, though that's increasingly rare.

easy shoe fix
 

being a recreational passenger most of the time...i leave my shoes home and wear beach sandels...thick rubber, very comfortable...and never asked to remove them. if i go formal...that is...with shoes and suite..the penny loafer is my friend...on and off in a flash...everyone is happy.

On the other hand... If your feet smell, it might be more important saftey-wise to keep them on then to take them off for a security check and gross out the entire area.

Just my two cents.

Don't know why I bother repeating this, but here it goes. We've been instructed to use the term "recommended" because some TSA legal weenie figured it out that way.

Does removing your shoes expedite the process? For a great majority of the passengers, yes! However, if you're wearing boots with laces, or high heels with buckles or other footwear that require a degree of effort to remove, then it's probably easier to undergo secondary screening. It's your choice not the screener's.

If your shoes alarm, you will have to remove them so they can be x-rayed.

If your shoes do not alarm, you don't have to remove them and the screener can analyze them with ETD technology ("the swabbie thingie").

If you are unable to remove your shoes due to medical reasons, we have procedures to accomodate you.

It's not that complicated.

It becomes more complicated when the screener tells you to take them off or you don't fly. Or when you don't set off an alarm and they give you the full monty, complete with "you'll have to remove your shoes" and a surly attitude. And a full retaliatory screening.

I was in DFW on Thursday and it's a mess. For the first time in a LONG time, I voluntarily removed my shoes to avoid the incompetence going on there.

The shoe fascination is so misplaced. As my wife says, "It's a good thing Reid didn't stick the bomb up his a$$...."

Totally agree. My beef with shoe carnival is that it distracts screeners and hampers security. Precious screening resources are being squandered on running the shoes through xrays when that time and effort could be spent on more effective security approaches.

One of the reasons I participate in this forum is to share information. By informing you of the correct procedures, I hope you would know when to call for a supervisor to report improper or rude behavior.

It's your choice: sit and complain or stand up for your rights.

I'm interested in cleaning up the ranks and making it more professional, even if I have to do it one screener at a time.

Thank you for repeating this. I'm an infrequent reader/lurker of FlyerTalk, and so caught this post for the first time.

jxg9

Thank you! you just made my day :) It took me 5 mins to stop laughing after that one.



Bart: thanks for repeating, I hadn't seen it either.

I ran into that in SFO last trip... Sir, if you don't remove your shoes, then you can't fly. I looked at the guy and said, great, can we get the supervisor over here to read that law to me" After swearing at me, I was let through with shoes on but SSSSSS'd. The comment was made that I could have saved a ton of time if I just complied with the law. Again I asked what law and I had nothing but time :) (for some reason that upset him more).

Today coming through SFO, shoes on... Sir, we recommend you remove your shoes. I didn't, quick swab, polite agent and on my way in under a minute.

I do believe I was the only sheeple in T1 that didn't take his shoes off this a.m.

With DFW as my home airport I started taking my shoes off in the begining of the new recomendation. I now leave them on and just get the extra screening no big deal.

One thing that really gums up the works inside TSA screeners' heads is when I say, "I really feel safer when my shoes get swabbed. That's much better than x-raying them." They just don't know what to say to that. I keep expecting to see a screener's head explode one of these days, like "Nomad" in the very old Star Trek episode. :)

Bruce

This is a recurring issue for me as well. The problem is that in the past, we were configured as teams. Once I laid down the law, people clearly understood how things worked in "Bartworld." Nowadays, we are assigned somewhat inconsistently. While there is a base of screeners who know how I run things, I find myself constantly reminding others of the correct screening criteria and my view of letting the "tie go to the runner."

Then there are those who say, "well, that's not how so-and-so tells us to do it."

That's when we go to the back of the checkpoint and review the Laws of Bartworld. :D

:D I'm using this one next time. Thanks.