WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Air travelers may be able to keep their shoes on while passing through security in the future, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Tuesday.
"We are moving towards an intelligence and risk-based approach to how we screen," Napolitano told Politico. "I think one of the first things you will see over time is the ability to keep your shoes on. One of the last things you will [see] is the reduction or limitation on liquids."
The Transportation Security Administration is working on technology that would allow shoe bombs to be detected without having to go through an X-ray machine, eliminating the requirement for flyers to remove shoes. Napolitano could not give a specific timeline as to when this technology would be available.
The TSA is considering a so-called trusted travelers program, which might allow some travelers to forgo removing their shoes at security before widespread implementation of the new shoe-screening technology, The Washington Post reported.
