‘No Shoes, No Problem?’ United Passenger’s Barefoot Odyssey Breaks Airline Rules

A United Airlines passenger arrived in the country and somehow lost his shoes at customs. He decided to leave his shoes behind, rather than looking for them, because he was afraid of missing his onward connection. He had two domestic flights to take, including a stop at Chicago O’Hare, and he made the entire journey just in his socks.

United’s Contract of Carriage actually forbids flying without shoes. And I’d point out that going barefoot is against the rules, and there’s no distinction here for merely having to board with shoes.

Going barefoot on the aircraft even temporarily is verboten and can lead to refused transport. You don’t want to get up to go into the lav barefoot anyway, that isn’t water splashed on the ground in there.

UA shall have the right to refuse transport on a permanent or temporary basis or shall have the right to remove from the aircraft at any point, any Passenger for the following reasons:..Passengers who are barefoot, not properly clothed, or whose clothing is lewd, obscene or offensive

This is common language. American’s Contract of Carriage says that passengers with “bare feet or offensive clothing aren’t allowed.”

And there are often shoe stores in the airport! I once managed to wear non-matching colored shoes to Washington’s National airport for my first leg of a trip to Asia. I realized this as I entered security. I turned back around and stopped into the Johnston & Murphy store immediately behind the checkpoint and picked up shoes that actually got me complimented by a flight attendant on that first flight.

Now, do you stop by the shoe store or run to the gate? I guess if there’s genuinely no time then you run to the gate. But people show up at the airport too early, and go to the gate too early. That’s why many airports have instituted ordering food at the gate. People go to their gate and stay tethered to their gate. They want to make sure the gate exists? They think their flight is going to board early? They’re somehow afraid of missing a flight even though it operates on a schedule.

And outside of the need for overhead bin space, to avoid having to gate check a bag, you don’t need to be on board when boarding begins. You just need to be on board before boarding ends. In general that means being ready to board more than 15 minutes prior to scheduled departure for domestic flights, not being at the gate 40 minutes prior. That extra cushion can be used to buy shoes!