After years of tough rules on liquids and footwear, US air travel may be on the cusp of a new era

When limits on liquids were introduced at TSA checkpoints across the country in 2006, bins overflowed with bottled water, toothpaste, shaving cream and so much more. Nearly two decades later, travelers are much more accustomed to the “3-1-1 regulations" governing the size of the liquids they're flying with, but scenes of passengers guzzling a beverage before putting their bags through the screening machines are still common.

- BY REBECCA SANTANA and WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS

That's why Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent ripples through the traveling public when she said earlier this week that changes might be afoot when it comes to the TSA's current liquid limits.

“The liquids, I’m questioning. So that may be the next big announcement, is what size your liquids need to be,” Noem told a conference hosted by “The Hill” in Washington.

Will travelers be able to carry bigger bottles? Multiple 1-quart bags of liquids? Those details haven't been rolled out. But coming on top of her announcement earlier this month that travelers could keep their shoes on at TSA checkpoints, it seems a much different security experience for American air travelers might be emerging.

9/11 and its aftermath changed much

Airline travel changed dramatically after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Before that, airlines were responsible for security and would often contract it out to private firms, said Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst with Atmosphere Research Group. Travelers often didn't need to show their ID at security checkpoints — and people without boarding passes, such as family members or friends, could go to the gate in some locations.

“It was much more casual. And clearly it was ineffective, because 9/11 occurred,” Harteveldt said.

That's when the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration were born, with the mandate of preventing more terrorist attacks.