denied entry on the plane

Have you ever seen the signs that say "No shoes, no shirt, no service?" It should be assumed that wearing shoes is the bare minimum standard that society expects of its members. I can't believe you thought it would be acceptable to board an airplane barefoot. You must have looked like a hillbilly. There is a time and a place for being barefoot but a crowded airplane flight would not be one of them, by my definitions.
 
Have you ever seen the signs that say "No shoes, no shirt, no service?" It should be assumed that wearing shoes is the bare minimum standard that society expects of its members. I can't believe you thought it would be acceptable to board an airplane barefoot. You must have looked like a hillbilly. There is a time and a place for being barefoot but a crowded airplane flight would not be one of them, by my definitions.

Thirty years ago that would have been said regarding flying in flip flops. But then again only a "hillbilly girl" or hippie chick would have shown up at a formal affair sans hose prior to the mid eighties.
I can't think of a more appropriate place to be barefoot than an airline flight.
A passenger is required to remove their shoes for security inspection. After stepping on surfaces that have recently been dosed with the pathogens from hundreds of other feet that had also just emerged from germy shoes, the last thing that should be done is to put your feet right back into a closed dark environment.
Medical experts advise to remove one's shoes while seated on a flight in order to help reduce the risk of deep vein thrombosis. And of course before sliding down the emergency chute it is recommended that shoes be removed. On one minute, off the next, on again, off in a survivable crash......it just makes so much more sense to fly barefoot!
Gone are the days when airline travel was a dress-up affair, and today it would be hard to make the case that a barefoot traveller is somehow less presentable than the ubiquitous flip flop flier.
I for one am sure glad that the majority of public establishments DO NOT subscribe to your definition!
 
Very well put, Board. Logical points. I wonder how Gayzelle will respond.
 
The last time I flew, I put flip-flops on to board and deplane. Barefoot during the flight and in the terminal (after passing through security). I didn't want to risk being hassled and I hate calling attention to myself for any reason. Unfortunately, being barefoot in public in the US tends to do just that.
 
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I went to Ft Worth TX for business this week. Basically went barefoot when I got to the BART station in Oakland and stayed that way until I got to my hotel in Fort Worth (SFO security, the terminal, the plane, the rental car shuttle, the drive to Ft Worth, the car valet, the hotel check-in) and then went for a bf run. I did put on my VFF to go to the bathroom; I have to draw the line somewhere. I didn't see anyone else barefoot along the way. Has anyone seen other fellow barefoot travelers?
 
I travel a lot for business, mostly Europe and US. Most of the time I am barefoot, and just ignore the stares on the US side. Airlines rarely give me trouble, never in Europe, sometimes in the US. I always carry a pair of huaraches in case somebody tries to make it an issue, but I rarely need them. Immigration to US is the one place I always make sure not to be barefoot. Everybody else can ask, and will get huaraches in case of need. That pretty much solves the topic for me.

And I have only once seen a fellow barefoot traveler, in Greece. Somehow, we really are a minority. Don't ask me why.
 
I went to Ft Worth TX for business this week. Basically went barefoot when I got to the BART station in Oakland and stayed that way until I got to my hotel in Fort Worth (SFO security, the terminal, the plane, the rental car shuttle, the drive to Ft Worth, the car valet, the hotel check-in) and then went for a bf run. I did put on my VFF to go to the bathroom; I have to draw the line somewhere. I didn't see anyone else barefoot along the way. Has anyone seen other fellow barefoot travelers?

Nice!

I don't fly that often, but twice have seen barefoot females walking in the terminal area of the San Diego airport.
It's possible they just removed their shoes at security and then didn't put bother to put them on again.
But since almost everyone puts their shoes back on immediately after passing through security, I like to assume they at least wanted to stay barefoot (good choice!).

Getting on/off the plane - no, haven't seen anyone.
 
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I've gone through security and kept my feet bare until I got to the gate on prior trips. About a month ago, I went up to security with bare feet and because I had TSA pre the agent asked why I had no shoes on!! He appeared a bit perturbed. Of course I didn't remove my jacket or take out my computer. Then he relaxed when I said i had packed the shoes. This trip to Fort Worth was the first time I have gone barefoot for over a thousand miles at once!
 
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I was grossed out by going to the bathroom bf, then i remembered i did it at the beach growing up. Only tourists wore shoes to the beach. :p
 
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Come on ... for sure you have already run through worse stuff than what's in an airport bathroom ... cow dung on trails and meadows ... all that yucky mud slime stuff near the entry to farms when roads are wet ... snails, frogs, and similar small roadkill ... dirty pavement in cities ... compared to that, airport bathrooms are like cleanrooms. I never bother about that. My feet have seen and touched much worse. That is just superstitious.

Of course, you want to keep your tetanus and hepatitis vaccinations up to date. But that goes without saying, I guess.