2 more annoying TSA rules that might go away | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plays a vital role in keeping Americans safe, screening an average of 2.3 million passengers each day and intercepting loaded weapons, canes with swords in them, knives, and a host of other dangerous objects.

While airport security is something every passenger should be grateful for, there have also been open questions for a long time about some of the rules.

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One of these rules — the requirement to take your shoes off — has been an official policy since 2006, although the TSA started requesting voluntary compliance in 2001 when “shoe bomber” Richard Reid tried to pack explosives into his shoes.

Americans have long questioned whether every single person really needs to walk barefoot through airport security to keep us safe, or whether this is really just “security theater.”

Thankfully, that question is now moot, as the TSA finally took action and eliminated the rule on July 8.

The end of the shoes-off era was met with celebration, but there are still a few questionable TSA requirements that cause endless aggravation for travelers and that may not actually be doing a whole lot to keep us safe.

So the big question is, will these other two annoying rules be the next to go?

Will you soon be allowed to bring liquids through airport security screenings?

Image source&colon; Nick de la Torre/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

TSA says everything is on the table when it comes to rule changes

When Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that TSA would no longer require passengers to take off their shoes, she also provided a glimmer of hope that other long-hated rules could be on the chopping block.

“Every rule is being evaluated,” Noem said as part of the announcement. This likely includes two other hated rules most Americans wish would disappear:

The rule that you must keep liquids to 3.4 ounces or less and keep them in a clear plastic bag
The rule that you must remove laptops and other large electronics from your bags before you go through security

The U.S. Travel Association has called for an end to these rules.

When U.S. Travel Association CEO Geoff Freeman testified before the House of Representatives in April, he recommended that the U.S. government “deploy state-of-the-art screening technology that strengthens security and reduces wait times by allowing all travelers to carry water bottles and larger liquids, leave all electronics in their bags and keep their shoes, jackets, and belts on.”

Freeman said these changes should not be treated as optional, as travel demand surges and competitors are moving faster than the U.S. in modernizing the screening process. “If we fail to act, we risk turning travelers away, ceding economic opportunities, and compromising our leadership in the world,” he said.

Other countries have abandoned these restrictions

The United States was always largely an outlier regarding the shoes-off policy at airports. Canada, Australia, and many EU countries either do not require shoes to be taken off or require them to come off only in limited situations, such as when there is metal inside or when people are traveling to the United States.

Some countries outside of the United States have also begun abandoning the ban on liquid, including two major British airports that scrapped the rule earlier in July.

Passengers traveling through both the Birmingham and Edinburgh airports are now permitted to bring up to two litres (around 67 ounces) of liquid in carry-on luggage, and while liquids are still restricted in size in the majority of other UK airports, they don’t have to come out of your bags in most of those locations.

With some lawmakers calling for an end to TSA altogether, and with the technology clearly in existence to justify abandoning limits on liquids, there is every reason to believe that the TSA may soon eliminate these unpleasant rules.

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Then we can all relax as we walk through security, sipping our water, with our laptops safely in our bags, and with a whole lot less hassle included in our travel experience.