US scraps shoe removal requirement at airport screenings, 20 years on
Reid pleaded guilty to terrorism and other charges and is serving a life sentence at a maximum security prison in Colorado.
'Security technology has changed dramatically' "In those 20 years since that policy was put in place, our security technology has changed dramatically. It's evolved. TSA has changed. We have a multi-layered, whole-of-government approach now to security," Noem said.
"We are very confident that we can continue to provide hospitality to folks and for American travellers and for those visiting our country, while maintaining the same standard of security for passengers and for our homeland," she added.
Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem said security technology had "evolved" over the past two decades. Source: AAP / AP / Mark Schiefelbein The TSA said in a statement on the shoe policy change that other security measures will remain in place. "Other aspects of TSA's layered security approach will still apply during the TSA checkpoint process. For example, passengers subject must still clear identity verification, Secure Flight vetting, and other processes," it said. Past attacks — both successful and thwarted — have led to a raft of new airport security measures in recent decades, especially following the September 11 attacks in 2011, in which hijackers flew passenger jets into the Twin Towers in New York as well as the Pentagon. In 2006, British authorities announced they had foiled a terror plot that aimed to blow up several planes in mid-air simultaneously with liquid explosives. Since then, tough restrictions have applied to liquids and gels, such as toothpaste. And electronics have also come in for additional screening in a bid to head off attacks, with passengers required to remove laptops from bags, for instance.
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