Recent and planned TSA changes may improve efficiency — but not if you’re unprepared when you arrive at the airport. Here’s what you need to know.
It seems like the security process at the airport is nearly always changing, or that every airport has different rules. Take off your shoes. Don’t take off your shoes. Leave your laptop in your bag. Don’t leave your laptop in your bag. All the while, TSA agents are shouting out rules. Travelers are struggling to comply while rushing to make their flight.
Well, TSA is hoping to make the security process a little more efficient via recent changes. However, for these TSA changes to truly be efficient, you’ll need to know what to expect in the coming months, as you head to the airport. Here’s how you can be prepared.
Top Takeaways
- TSA ends “shoes off” policy.
- Certain hair devices are now banned from flights.
- TSA is piloting a program that negates rescreening for international Travelers.
- New eGates use biometric data to check you are who you say you are.
- REAL ID rules are being fully enforced.
1. You No Longer Need to Take Off Your Shoes at US Domestic Airports
As of July 2025, TSA announced that it was ending its “shoes off” policy. Travelers going through U.S. domestic airports can leave their shoes on when passing through TSA checkpoints. The decision was made with the intention of streamlining the security process and making the Traveler experience more hospitable. When the change was announced, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem assured that, thanks to TSA’s tech, the organization could continue to maintain a high level of security despite the change. She also called the change one of many that the current administration is using to push for a new, “Golden Age of American travel.”
2. TSA Bans New Items in Checked Bags
While TSA changing their rules around taking off your shoes at security checkpoints may make your life easier, new bans on items in checked bags may actually make your life a little harder. As USA Today reported in August, newly banned items include cordless hair devices. This includes cordless curling irons or flat irons containing gas cartridges, butane-fueled curling irons or flat irons, and spare gas cartridges for curling irons and flat irons.
3. One Stop Security Pilot Program Simplifies International Travel
Another change that came about in the late summer, TSA announced a pilot program for One Stop Security. The program allows Travelers arriving in the United States from select international airports, with connecting flights, to avoid rescreening. Currently, the program is only available on American Airlines and Delta Air Lines flights traveling from London’s Heathrow International Airport to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (on American Airlines) or Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (on Delta).
For more international airports to join the program, they must meet specific TSA requirements. TSA anticipates that the program will reduce costs while improving security.
4. New eGates Arrive at TSA Security Checkpoints
You may see some new tech the next time you go through a TSA security checkpoint. New electronic gates, or eGates, will begin expediting the identity verification process in certain airports. The eGates compare traveler biometrics with their documentation and boarding pass, eliminating the need for a human to do so before Travelers go through security. TSA noted that this new addition is made possible via a public-private partnership with CLEAR. The company already has eGates scattered around U.S. airports, though currently Travelers need a membership in order to use them.
The publicly available, TSA eGates are being trialed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Ronald Reagan National Airport.
5. TSA Begins REAL ID Full Enforcement
If you’re not a frequent Traveler, you may’ve let this TSA change pass you by. In the spring, TSA finally, after many, many years, began enforcing Travelers to have a REAL ID in lieu of a standard driver’s license, in order to fly.
Many Travelers have likely already obtained a REAL ID, as the change was slowly rolled out by state. However, for those who have not obtained a REAL ID as of yet, that’s an absolute must for any upcoming domestic flights (though TSA will accept other forms of ID in place of a standard driver’s license, including a passport). For those who cannot present a suitable form of ID, they’ll either be delayed or possibly unable to fly at all.
How to Prepare for Recent TSA Changes
Preparing for recent TSA changes will be a simple matter of staying up to date on all changes, which you can do via the TSA’s press release page, as well as by ensuring you have all necessary documentation before you fly (like a REAL ID). Additionally, apprise yourself of all items you’re not allowed to fly with, so you can leave those items at home.
Pros and Cons to Recent TSA Changes
There have been quite a few concerns voiced regarding the recent TSA changes. While some say that the changes make travel safer and more convenient, others have asked how, for example, data related to biometrics gathered at eGates will be stored and used. Still others have raised an eyebrow at whether or not these changes will actually maintain TSA’s high level of security.
However, the TSA continues to assure that recent changes still prioritize security first and foremost. An expert for the Security Industry Association recently explained to Men’s Journal that data compilation related to biometrics should not be a worry from a privacy perspective, with the TSA stating that data is not stored or saved.
Stay Informed of the Travel Changes You Need to Know
As a business Traveler, efficiency and productivity are key to a successful trip. Get all the insights, news, tips and tricks you need for the best Business Travel Experience possible, on the JTB Business Travel Waypoint blog. And, for all the latest in TSA updates, be sure to stay attuned to the TSA press release page, which publishes all national updates, as well as regional and local updates, as they occur.
