No More Bare Soles at Chicago Airports

Responding to the latest airport security rule, the Chicago Department of Aviation on Wednesday moved to protect passengers’ most well-traveled items: their feet.

Disposable foot covers appeared outside security checkpoints at Midway International Airport and O’Hare International Airport. Transportation Security Administration rules issued this week dictate that all travelers passing through security must remove their footwear -- an upgrade from the days after Sept. 11 when the agency had strongly suggested removing shoes for screening but hadn’t required it.

A number of the sockless and sandal-clad who arrived at the airport Wednesday to tiptoe through the metal detector were clearly pleased.

“When you spend as much money as we do on pedicures, you need to protect your feet,” said Roula Manis, 40, grabbing a pair of footies at the United Airlines gate. “A fungus is not something you want to get. And I am not too comfortable with walking on that floor.”

The aqua-colored foot coverings may not entirely stop the spread of foot fungi, but it’s a solid start, doctors said.

“The footies are a polypropylene material; it’s soft, and it’s got a bit of gripping tread on the bottom,” said Ross Litton, president of Howard Medical Co., which makes the booties.

Wendy Abrams, spokeswoman for the Chicago Department of Aviation, said that two concession groups, HMS Host and Hudson Group, bought about 30,000 pairs of footies. In turn, the companies have their logos on the bins holding them.

Abrams said airports in Washington, D.C., and Little Rock, Ark., had been passing out footies for passengers since last year.

She said her agency hoped to provide the free booties as long as travelers were required to remove their shoes.