For the first time in almost 20 years, travelers may no longer be required to take off their shoes during security screenings at U.S. airports.
The Transportation Security Administration is looking to abandon the additional security step that has for years bedeviled anyone passing through U.S airports, according to media reports.
If implemented, it would put an end to a security screening mandate put in place almost 20 years ago, several years after ''shoe bomber'' Richard Reid's failed attempt to take down a flight from Paris to Miami in late 2001.
The travel newsletter Gate Access was first to report that the security screening change is coming. ABC News reported on an internal memo sent to TSA officers last week that states the new policy allows travelers to keep their shoes on during standard screenings at many U.S. airports, beginning Sunday. That would expand to all airports shortly.
The plan is for the change to occur at all U.S. airports soon, the memo said.
Travelers have previously been able to skirt the extra security requirement if they participate in the TSA PreCheck program, which costs around $80 for five years. The program allows airline passengers to get through the screening process without removing shoes, belts or light jackets.
Travelers who are 75 years old or older and those 12 or younger do not have to remove shoes at security checkpoints.
The TSA has not officially confirmed the reported security screening change yet.