Over the past year there have been encouraging gestures by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regarding the easing of one of the biggest headaches about airport security – the removal of shoes for scanning. It looks like the majority of passengers going through U.S. airports won't get the opportunity to keep their shoes on after all.

The TSA had been seeking technology that would efficiently scan the footwear of airline passengers, allowing them to keep their shoes on as they go through the security screening process. Though the technology exists in various forms, the criteria set by the TSA could not be met, according to government technology news site Nextgov. It was only a few months ago that the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security suggested that passengers would be able to keep their shoes on "in the very near future." Apparently, the future will have to wait a bit longer.

The TSA did not specify a particular device in its requirements. It merely requested that any technology implemented had to be effective in detecting explosives in footwear while allowing passengers to keep their shoes on. According to experts familiar with the program, concerns over the cost of implementation, device reliability and radiation limits are suggested as the key reasons for the TSA's decision to halt its search. However, the TSA has publicly stressed its commitment to pursuing a risk-based security protocol that, in time, should ease some of the grievances passengers have with going through airport security checkpoints. For example, new body scanners will use millimeter wave technology in lieu of x-rays and will be able to provide a generic figure of the person being scanned while still detecting objects hidden in clothing.

Currently, the TSA is expanding a program that allows select frequent flyers, crew members and soon, members of the U.S. military, to go through expedited airport security screening. For these passengers, shoes and jackets can remain on and electronics do not need to be removed from their bags or cases for screening. For the rest of the flying public, the wait continues.

Though airport security procedures are an annoyance for so many flyers, think about this. It was an attempt by a would-be bomber to ignite explosives hidden in his shoes that prompted the TSA to require that all shoes be removed and scanned. Frustrating as it may be, remember that there was also a bombing attempt that involved explosives hidden in underwear. Body scanners notwithstanding, at least today we're not subjected to anything more than shoe removal.