Have you ever had “SSSS” appear on your boarding pass? In some cases, it isn’t a big deal at all. In others, it may indicate you’ve landed on some sort of government list and soon find the designation appearing on every subsequent boarding pass until the issue is finally resolved. What does “SSSS”mean? It stands for secondary security screening selection, and indicates that you will be receiving an extra-thorough screening at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint. There are any number of reasons that may cause you to get selected for such screening. Sometimes it’s because your specific itinerary is unusual, which could include flights booked at the last minute, international one-way tickets, or travel ending in a “high-risk” country. At other times, passengers may find themselves on some sort of watch or no-fly list. While the government doesn't elaborate on what causes someone to be placed on such lists, I suspect it may be because of their travel patterns. Or, it could be because of their names, or because they’re being watched more carefully. In other circumstances, the “SSSS” designation is completely random.
When making your reservation there is no way to know if you’ll get the dreaded “SSSS.” However, if you are selected for whatever reason, you generally won’t be able to either load a mobile boarding pass or print the boarding pass 24 hours in advance. Instead, an error message will appear indicating that you’ll receive the boarding pass at the airport. To be clear, just because that message appears doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be subject to extra screening. The error message might also appear for a number of other reasons, especially with the myriad of travel advisories and restrictions in place.
If the designation is on the boarding pass, a loud beep will sound and a red light will illuminate at the initial point of TSA contact. The officer will radio or call for a supervisor, announcing they have a “quad,” which refers to the four letters and will announce that “the airline has randomly selected you for additional screening,” which is not the case. Next, the TSA lead or supervisor on duty will escort the passenger to a separate lane and typically close that lane to other travelers. At a minimum, they’ll turn several bins upside down around your items to separate them from everyone else’s. The good news is the traveler gets to cut the rest of the line, so if there are people waiting, they'll move ahead of everyone else. But, that's the only positive aspect of the entire experience.
At this point, the “SSSS” passenger is asked to walk through the metal detector and then back again before TSA instructs them to go through the full body scanner. This’ll be followed by a full body pat down, which can be conducted in private if requested. The agent will pat down nearly every inch of the traveler’s body from the waistline to the ankles. By then, there are normally at least two TSA Officers involved in the secondary screening. One will search just about every inch of their belongings. Not only will they look closely at everything which passed through the belt, but they will also swab items looking for residue. When TSA agents swab items, they are primarily looking for trace amounts of explosive residue, using a process called "explosive trace detection" to check if a passenger's belongings or hands have come into contact with any potential explosive materials. This process could include swabbing carry-on luggage, checked baggage, and the hands directly. They will also ask these travelers to power on electronics to verify that the devices are functional and not disguised explosives, as intelligence has suggested terrorists could use seemingly dead devices to conceal explosives inside. So essentially, powered-on devices prove they’re legitimate electronics and not hidden threats.
Typically, the supervisor will also take a picture of the boarding pass and ID, complete a form and eventually stamp the boarding pass to indicate that the traveler has completed the secondary screening described above. This is an important point, because once the passenger scans the boarding pass at the gate while attempting to board the aircraft, a different alarm will sound, at which point the gate agent will check to make sure the TSA “stamp” is present. If for some reason the TSA supervisor neglected to stamp the boarding pass, the agent has to call TSA to the gate. Note that you can also get a secondary search at the gate on a US-bound flight, although the secondary screening process outside the country isn’t typically quite as invasive or time consuming. Wherever it takes place, it’s important to maintain a good attitude. The secondary screening is not the TSA’s fault and the agent required to initiate the process isn’t any happier than those subjected to such additional measures.
Just a word here about TSA PreCheck. This program allows eligible travelers to go through an expedited security line at participating US airports where they may not need to remove shoes, jackets and belts or take laptops out of carry-on bags. Applicants must be US citizens, US nationals, or lawful permanent residents. They may be ineligible as a iresult of incomplete or false application information, certain violations of Federal security regulations, or disqualifying criminal offenses. The initial application fee currently ranges from $77.95 to $85.00, depending upon the enrollment center while renewals cost $70 if completed online. The TSA PreCheck membership lasts for five years and is well worth it for travelers who wish to improve their experience by spending less time waiting in security Ines. But, what happens if you have TSA PreCheck and your boarding pass has “SSSS” on it? You won’t receive TSA PreCheck for the itinerary in which you were chosen for second.
If you only get an “SSSS” on your boarding pass on a isingle tinerary, you have nothing to worry about as it was simply random in nature. I’ve only received the designation a few times in all my years of flying, which is completely normal. However, it you receive it repeatedly, that probably means you’ve been added to a government list. But, there is hope. You can apply online for a Redress Number through the TRIP Program managed by the US Department of Homeland Security, TRIP stands for Traveler Redress Inquiry Program.Go to www.dhs.gov.trip and fill out the online form, sharing basic details of your situation. After repeated secondary screenings, a friend of mine applied for a Redress Number several years ago. In about one month’s time, his case was reviewed and resolved. He’s been flying without secondary screenings ever since.
Most of us are lucky enough to avoid such time-consuming and invasive procedures. But, it’s good to know there may be a way to correct receiving repeated “SSSS” designations and thereby have one less thing to stress about before flying.
Until next time…safe travels.
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