TSA ended mandatory shoe removal before audit found explosive detection gaps

Quick summary

TSA launched Gateside by TSA PreCheck in September 2026, allowing vetted non-flyers to enter secure gate areas at 13 U.S. airports without a boarding pass — the first time non-ticketed access has been permitted at American checkpoints since the post-9/11 security overhaul. The program requires an existing TSA PreCheck credential, a Known Traveler Number, and a free online application submitted one to three days in advance. Shoe-on screening, meanwhile, has been standard since July 2025.

A March 2026 Department of Homeland Security Inspector General audit has since raised questions about whether shoe explosives detection equipment is reliable enough to support that policy shift. The gap between what TSA is announcing and what the audit found is the story worth reading.

American airport security is being redesigned around the idea that friction and safety are not the same thing. TSA ended mandatory shoe removal in July 2025, launched a gate-access program for vetted non-flyers this month, and is weighing a trial that would let PreCheck members carry full water bottles through lanes equipped with 3D scanners. TSA Administrator David Cummins has defended each move, pointing to layered security and new detection technology as the foundation for a less intrusive checkpoint experience.

The counterargument comes from Brian Sullivan, a former FAA special agent, who contends the agency has tilted toward convenience at the expense of detection capability. His concern is grounded in a March 2026 audit by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, which found that TSA’s shoe screening equipment could not reliably identify explosives concealed in footwear — a finding that arrived roughly eight months after the shoe-removal rule was already gone.

For travelers, the practical changes are real and immediate. Keeping shoes on saves time. Gateside access means a parent can walk a child to the departure gate, or a family member can meet an arriving passenger inside the secure area, at airports including DFW, LAX, DTW, and ten others. A potential liquids relaxation for PreCheck lanes would eliminate one of the most persistent checkpoint irritants. But the audit’s findings sit in the background of every one of these announcements.

What the Gateside program actually requires — and where it works

Gateside by TSA PreCheck is not a walk-up service. Participants must hold an active PreCheck credential or another trusted-traveler program that issues a Known Traveler Number, then apply through TSA.gov between one and three days before their planned visit. Approved passes are free, valid for a single calendar day, and allow re-entry through a PreCheck lane with an acceptable government-issued ID. No boarding pass required.

Coverage as of early September 2026 spans 13 airports: Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Columbus, Detroit, Wichita, Indianapolis, Mesa-Gateway, Little Rock, and Oklahoma City. TSA has indicated a phased expansion to additional airports, though no specific timeline or list has been published. The current footprint skews toward large hubs and mid-size regional airports rather than the busiest international gateways — New York, Chicago, and Miami are absent from the initial rollout.

The shoe policy change, separately, has been in effect since July 8, 2025, ending a requirement introduced after a 2006 attempt to detonate explosives hidden in footwear. The DHS Inspector General audit published in March 2026 subsequently found that detection equipment at checkpoints struggled to reliably identify shoe-borne explosive devices. TSA has not publicly detailed how it plans to address those specific findings while continuing to expand convenience-oriented programs.

On the technology side, the agency is deploying 3D computed tomography baggage scanners and facial-comparison e-gates at busier hub airports, with body scanners replacing magnetometers in PreCheck lanes. Processing times for these systems are measured in seconds. The water bottle trial — which would allow PreCheck members to carry full bottles through lanes with CT scanners — has not been formally approved or scheduled as of publication.

Risk-based screening and what the audit actually changes

The shift underway at U.S. checkpoints is a deliberate move from uniform, rule-based screening toward a tiered model where known, vetted travelers face fewer physical restrictions and technology carries more of the detection burden. That logic is sound in principle — and it mirrors approaches used by several European and Australian airports for years. The problem the DHS Inspector General identified is that the technology side of the equation has not fully caught up with the policy side.

Shoe removal was always as much a behavioral signal as a detection method: it forced passengers to think about what they were carrying and gave officers a visible compliance moment. Replacing that with imaging and trace-detection systems works well when those systems perform reliably. When an audit finds they do not, the gap is not theoretical.

For international travelers connecting through U.S. hubs, the stakes extend beyond personal convenience. U.S. checkpoint standards influence what partner carriers and foreign regulators expect from passengers arriving on connecting flights. A detection gap at an American hub is not contained to American routes.

TSA Administrator Cummins has maintained that the agency’s layered security model — which includes behavior detection, air marshal programs, and intelligence-sharing — compensates for any single technology’s limitations. That argument is standard agency doctrine, and it may well be correct. But the March 2026 audit exists, and former FAA Special Agent Sullivan’s public challenge to the agency’s framing is the first time a named federal-background official has put the specific audit findings into public circulation. Air Traveler Club’s airline promo monitoring tracks carrier responses to policy shifts like these, which can affect schedule and route decisions at affected hubs.

Steps to take before your next U.S. checkpoint

The audit findings and the new programs are running in parallel right now — travelers need to know both sides of that equation before arriving at a U.S. airport.

• Apply for Gateside in advance, not the day of: The application window opens three days before your visit and closes the day before. Same-day requests are not accepted. Apply at TSA.gov and confirm your Known Traveler Number is current before submitting.
• Check whether your airport has CT scanners before assuming liquids rules have changed: The water bottle trial has not been approved. Standard 100ml/3.4oz liquid limits remain in force at all U.S. checkpoints as of publication. Do not pack full bottles based on news coverage of a proposal.
• Verify your PreCheck lane at the checkpoint, not at home: Not every lane at a PreCheck-equipped airport uses the newer body scanners or CT baggage systems. Routing yourself to the right lane — ask an officer if unclear — determines whether you benefit from the faster processing times TSA is advertising.
• Treat the audit as relevant context, not alarm: The DHS Inspector General’s findings on shoe detection equipment are a documented reliability concern, not a confirmed security failure. Layered security means multiple systems are in play. But knowing the audit exists is useful if you are assessing risk on a specific itinerary.

Watch: TSA’s formal response to the March 2026 DHS Inspector General audit — expected before year-end — will indicate whether the agency plans to remediate the shoe detection equipment gaps or contest the findings. If remediation is announced, it signals the convenience-forward rollout continues on firmer ground. If the agency contests the audit, the public debate between Sullivan and Cummins will intensify.

Questions? Answers.