Articles

Do I Have to Take My Shoes Off?
And Other Frequently Asked Questions About Flying

Gone are the days when you could arrive at the airport minutes before your flight and run through the terminal to catch the plane.  Now a traveler can spend more time in the airport preparing to board the plane than in the friendly skies and become weary at the beginning of the trip rather than at the end.  If you haven’t traveled recently, or even if you have, here are some tips that will help you reduce both your waiting time in the airport and your frustration.

• Packing and preparing for the security checkpoint.

  
  

  1. Do not wear clothes, shoes, accessories, or jewelry that contain metal. Metal may set off the alarm on the metal detector and you will be taken aside to be swept with a metal detecting wand, inspected by a pat-down, or searched. You will be asked to remove your footwear if you are wearing boots, platform shoes of any kind, or footwear containing metal or with a thick sole or heel, including athletic shoes. You may not have to remove beach flip-flops and thin-soled sandals that do not contain any metal.

  2. Do not pack prohibited items. Check the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website before you pack to review the list of permitted and prohibited items.

  3. Do not bring fueled lighters or prohibited matches to the airport. Fueled lighters and strike-anywhere matches are banned from both checked and carry-on luggage. All lighters are prohibited as carry-on items, but you may pack lighters without fuel in your checked baggage. Matches are not permitted in your checked luggage, but you may bring up to four books of safety matches in your carry-on baggage or on your person.

  4. Do not wrap gifts. They may have to be unwrapped to be inspected.

  5. Place valuables such as jewelry (including body piercings), cash, and laptop computers in your carry-on baggage. Tape your business card or a card with your name and address to the bottom of your laptop. Also place all medications in your carry-on bag.

  6. Place all undeveloped film and cameras with film in your carry-on baggage. The screening equipment for checked baggage will damage undeveloped film.

  7. Leave all of your baggage unlocked, or use a TSA-approved lock.

  8. Plan to arrive at the airport at least two hours before your flight is scheduled to depart. If your airline offers the option, access your reservation and print your boarding pass before you leave home. You can check your luggage with the sky cab at the curb and proceed directly to the security checkpoint. This can save you a lot of time.

• At the airport.

  
  

  1. Once you have your boarding pass, proceed to the security checkpoint as quickly as possible. It is impossible to predict how long it will take you to get through it.

  2. Keep available your boarding pass and government-issued photo ID until you have exited the security checkpoint. You may have to display them more than once.

  3. Before the checkpoint, place all your metal items in your carry-on luggage.

  4. At the checkpoint, take your laptop and video camera with cassettes out of their cases and place them in a bin provided at the checkpoint. Take off your outer clothing--coat, suit coat, sweater, jacket--and place it in a bin. Take off your shoes and place them in a bin. Even if you think your shoes don’t contain metal, if they have thick soles or heels, they will need to be examined. Also, many shoes, including sandals, contain at least some metal that will set off the metal detector and subject you to additional screening.

  5. Don’t make jokes about security.

For additional information, check the TSA website at http://www.tsa.gov.