Have you ever had an “SSSS” on your boarding pass when taking a flight with an airline? In this post, I want to take a detailed look at the significance of that. In some cases, this isn’t a big deal at all, while in other cases, you may have landed on some sort of a list, and get it on every flight, until you get it resolved (as happened to me back in 2017).
In this post:
What does “SSSS” on a boarding pass stand for?
“SSSS” stands for secondary security screening selection. I’m not sure if the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) came up with the abbreviation first and then came up with words to justify it, or if it was the other way around. Simply put, an “SSSS” on your boarding pass means that you’re getting an extra thorough search when you go through security.
What causes someone to get “SSSS” on their boarding pass?
There are a variety of things that can cause you to get selected for secondary security screening. Based on my understanding:
- Sometimes it’s because the specific itinerary you’re on is unusual; this could include flights booked last minute, international one-way tickets, travel originating in “high-risk” countries, etc.
- Sometimes it’s because you’re on some sort of a list; I have no clue what causes people to get on lists, though I suspect for some people it’s because of their travel patterns, for others it’s because of their names, and for others it’s because they’re being watched more carefully for whatever reason
- Sometimes it’s completely random, and you have nothing to worry about
As a very frequent flyer, I’d say that nowadays I get “SSSS” on my boarding pass maybe a few times per year, typically on one-way international itineraries.
However, in 2017, I was getting additional screening every single time I flew. I suspect this was because of my unusual travel patterns (I traveled to some “suspicious” countries, booked a lot of one-way international flights, etc.).
Are there any signs that you’ll be subjected to additional security?
There’s no way to know when you book whether you’ll get the dreaded “SSSS.” However, if you’re going to get it, you generally won’t be able to load a mobile boarding pass, or print your boarding pass at home. Instead, you’ll get an error message saying that you’ll only be able to print your boarding pass at the airport.
To be clear, just because you get that message doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get extra screening. You could also get a message about not being able to get your boarding pass in advance for a number of other reasons. You’ll know for sure when you print your boarding pass at the airport, and see the “SSSS” on it.
What is the secondary screening process like?
What should you expect at security if your boarding pass has “SSSS” on it? I’ll share my experience based on the last time I dealt with this in the United States, which admittedly goes back a while.
When the initial TSA agent scans your boarding pass, it will make a loud beep and a red light will illuminate. The agent will radio for a supervisor and say they have a “quad” (which I guess is the codeword for “SSSS,” with the “quad” referring to the four letters).
The TSA agent will tell you “the airline has randomly selected you for additional screening” (which is a lie), and ask you to step to the side. A TSA lead or supervisor (someone with two or three stripes on their uniform) will show up eventually and escort you to a separate lane. In my experience, they’ll typically close a lane in order for you to be screened. At a minimum, they’ll put two upside down bins around your items to separate them from everyone else’s.
The good news is that you get to cut the rest of the line, so if there are people waiting, you cut ahead of everyone. It’s the only positive aspect of the experience. 😉
Then you’ll be asked to walk through the metal detector, and then back again. Then you’ll be asked to go through the full body scanner. Then you’ll get a full body pat down (which you can choose to have in private if you want). The agent will pat down every inch of your body, from your waistline to the area around your crotch. The fact that they scan your body in three ways seems like a slight overkill to me, but whatever…
At this point, there will typically be at least two TSA agents involved, if not three. One will search every inch of your belongings. Not only will they look at everything, but they’ll swab your items to check them for any residue. They’ll also ask you to power on your electronics. They just need to make sure that they can turn on, so be sure you have battery power for all your electronics.
Meanwhile, typically the supervisor will take a picture of your boarding pass and ID, fill out a form, and then eventually stamp your boarding pass to indicate that you’ve been screened.
This is an important point, because when you get to the gate your boarding pass will “alarm” once again, at which point the gate agent will check to make sure the TSA “stamp” is on there. If you don’t have it then they’ll have to call the TSA to the gate. The entire screening process takes anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes, in my experience, depending on how efficient the people screening you are.
Note that you can also get a secondary search at the gate on a US-bound flight. I find that the screening process there typically isn’t quite as invasive or time consuming.
I always have a good attitude during the process. It’s not the TSA’s fault, and the agent isn’t any happier about having to perform the secondary search than I am. I’ve also dealt with some really uneducated TSA agents during the process. For example, one time the guy searching my bag found my passports, and thought they were fraudulent, because I have passports from both the United States and Germany. He didn’t understand the concept of dual citizenship.
Can you get “SSSS” if you have TSA PreCheck?
TSA PreCheck is a fantastic program whereby enrolled travelers can get expedited airport screening. How does that work in relation to the “SSSS” issue?
- You can get “SSSS” even if you’re enrolled in TSA PreCheck
- If you do get “SSSS,” then you won’t receive TSA PreCheck for the itinerary where you were chosen for secondary screening
What can you do if you frequently get “SSSS?”
If you only get an “SSSS” on your boarding pass on one trip, you have nothing to worry about. As I said, I randomly get it every so often, and that’s totally normal. However, if you get this designation several trips in a row, you can assume you’re on some sort of a list.
Don’t worry, it’s not a huge deal, your life isn’t over. The way you’ll want to address this is by applying for a Redress Number. You can do so through the DHS TRIP program, which stands for Traveler Redress Inquiry Program. There you just fill out basic details sharing what you think the problem is, and then that should be investigated and hopefully resolved.
I applied for a Redress Number back in 2017, and about a month later, my case was reviewed and resolved. I haven’t had any major issues since.
Bottom line
Getting the dreaded “SSSS” on your boarding pass sure can be a pain. It’ll add quite a bit of time to the screening process, and is invasive, as they’ll touch every inch of you and your bag. If you just get this as a one-off thing, don’t be worried. However, if you get this several times in a row, there’s a chance you’re on some sort of a list, and may want to start the DHS TRIP process.
If you’ve gone through secondary screening in the United States, what was your experience like?
Two SSSS happenings:
My teenage son received SSSS. He had no bags or items, not even a phone. TSA would not believe that he had no items. They had a conference of about a dozen smurfs to figure out how to proceed.
I have two passports. TSA "found" them in the SSSS search. I had time to kill, so when they asked why I had two passports I responded that I was pleading the fifth....
Two SSSS happenings:
My teenage son received SSSS. He had no bags or items, not even a phone. TSA would not believe that he had no items. They had a conference of about a dozen smurfs to figure out how to proceed.
I have two passports. TSA "found" them in the SSSS search. I had time to kill, so when they asked why I had two passports I responded that I was pleading the fifth. They called the cops. About the fourth cop that arrived, finally stated that it wasn't a crime to have multiple passports.
Anout 12 years ago I was flying from Italy to US with and overnight at LHR. When rechecking in early morning and going through security I got questioned by a British agent with a strong Indian accent about all details of my trip including name of the street where my hotel was in Padova - how would I know if I was taking taxies? She also asked me who was my Dean when I studied...
Anout 12 years ago I was flying from Italy to US with and overnight at LHR. When rechecking in early morning and going through security I got questioned by a British agent with a strong Indian accent about all details of my trip including name of the street where my hotel was in Padova - how would I know if I was taking taxies? She also asked me who was my Dean when I studied in College 20 years ago. I responded wiith someting like "Is this the best question you can come with?" After that I was always getting SSSS when traveling back to US from LHR. That was another reason to avoid travelening through that misearable airport...
When he was a child, my 8 year old started getting this. A SW ticket agent said there was someone on the No Fly list with the same name. Eventually someone must have removed him from the list because after a bunch of times in succession, it hasn’t happened in 20 years.
I had this flying SQ from Frankfurt to JFK 3 years ago. My ticket was not purchased last minute and I was flying in J. US citizen travelling on a USA passport who usually receives TSAPRE. I was annoyed. I see no point checking a US citizen who is already known to the TSA while not checking visitors.
SSSS = Secondary Security Screening Selection
It often happens to me and my wife ever since we got married and changed our family name to combine our birth names into one name
so the name on the boarding pass slightly differs from the birth name on the passport even if this one also mentions our new full name
We joke that SSSS stand for 'Super Secret Strip Seacrch'
Only the US has SSSS in place, no other country does this.
Once you visited a country that the US doesn't like, like Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and so on, then you'll no longer be eligible for any convenient way to cross the US border and you have to apply for a full B1/B2 visa and stand in line for hours with every other potentially dangerous person with just 8kg of hand...
Only the US has SSSS in place, no other country does this.
Once you visited a country that the US doesn't like, like Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and so on, then you'll no longer be eligible for any convenient way to cross the US border and you have to apply for a full B1/B2 visa and stand in line for hours with every other potentially dangerous person with just 8kg of hand luggage and a loving and caring family waiting back home. The bonus is that you will get a SSSS by default on every single flight to and from the USA. And the cherry on the cake? That will last for the rest of your life. It's one of the reasons why I'm no longer very interested in visiting that fascist shithole anymore.
“I won’t visit the ‘fascist shithole’ USA because they don’t want me to visit paragons of good governance such as Yemen”
Don't know that to be true. The only time I had SSSS on my boarding pass was on an ARN-FRA flight.
Ben, same as your's... probably odd international flights... I a[[lied for a redress and it stopped.
I have had the “dreaded” SSSS several times. Never resulted in any extra security screening.
I had it at Heathrow, flying to Miami. It was brilliant. We (I was flying with my family) got to go through the gate with all the Group 1 passengers. The check itself was just a bag search, id check, and a swab. Then we were released and were on the plane way ahead of the Group 7 people I should have been boarded with. I'm sure it's a bit different ex-US but in this case, 5 stars would SSSS again
You missed the worst part - with the SSSS on your boarding pass you will be subjected to the same search at connecting airports as well. On a flight a couple of years ago, we flew from Laredo to Houston connecting to Istanbul. When my wife attempted to board the flight to Istanbul they realized she had not gone through TSA in Houston and forced her to go back to the screening area. She almost...
You missed the worst part - with the SSSS on your boarding pass you will be subjected to the same search at connecting airports as well. On a flight a couple of years ago, we flew from Laredo to Houston connecting to Istanbul. When my wife attempted to board the flight to Istanbul they realized she had not gone through TSA in Houston and forced her to go back to the screening area. She almost missed the flight. Those with tight connections are guaranteed to miss them with SSSS on their boarding pass. It stayed with her for a couple of years and then just dropped off.
I used to get this about every couple of months a few years ago. I had traveled from TPA to Havana, Moscow, Montreal and Tokyo within the space of 4 months. OOOPS ! I am sure that triggered it.
Since that year, nothing.
My husband had this SSSS when we were going back from Amsterdam to Atlanta. Not a weird one way trip, and although we’d done it previously it was a year or two prior so nothing odd there. He has the exact same name as his father and it’s a relatively common name so we think his name triggered it. And I’ll add once leaving the Turks and Caicos Islands to head back to the US,...
My husband had this SSSS when we were going back from Amsterdam to Atlanta. Not a weird one way trip, and although we’d done it previously it was a year or two prior so nothing odd there. He has the exact same name as his father and it’s a relatively common name so we think his name triggered it. And I’ll add once leaving the Turks and Caicos Islands to head back to the US, he did not get SSSS but we were both taken in a back room, luggage hand searched, questioned separately etc etc, and finally released to get back into the hot, overcrowded “regular people” gate area.
Most of the people I know who've received this designation have star wars names, and who had one way tickets traveling to USA.
Jar Jar Binks?
Had this on a last minute one-way booking MUC-MIA with LH in F - so I agree, these two factors surely make you suspicious :D
The screening in Munich took 5 mins, the guys have been very friendly.
Flew one way Turkey to US once and had this for a month, was horrible. Apparently it's a thing
Just curious, why are you writing about this again? Or are you reposting an old post.
I've had this twice before on international flights. Each time, I had bought tickets at the last minute or only a few days prior. For me, it was a supplement scan of hand luggage for traces of drugs via a cotton swab and drug scanner.
The second time, I was afraid it would read positive for I was traveling with a gentleman who is on strong pain management drugs and possible cross contamination. If...
I've had this twice before on international flights. Each time, I had bought tickets at the last minute or only a few days prior. For me, it was a supplement scan of hand luggage for traces of drugs via a cotton swab and drug scanner.
The second time, I was afraid it would read positive for I was traveling with a gentleman who is on strong pain management drugs and possible cross contamination. If it was up to him, he'd carry them in one of those weekly pill organizer (Sunday thru Saturday). That's why I'm explicit with him to carry his RX in the original prescription bottles when we travel; we are too old to spend time in jail in a foreign country.
Can you find out what the other abbreviations are and what they mean? That'd be most useful and interesting.
That's near the top of things I dread the most when traveling. Every time I've gotten it, it sucks big time. They make you empty your carry ons. They go through every little item in your luggage. They are careless with my electronics like laptops. Sometimes they have taken items out of my luggage and dropped them to the floor. Worst experience was long ago when I once flew through Hobby in Houston. I got...
That's near the top of things I dread the most when traveling. Every time I've gotten it, it sucks big time. They make you empty your carry ons. They go through every little item in your luggage. They are careless with my electronics like laptops. Sometimes they have taken items out of my luggage and dropped them to the floor. Worst experience was long ago when I once flew through Hobby in Houston. I got pulled out of the security line and got a body search and nearly missed my flight. I might have not minded it as much if it was hot looking female TSA agent, but no......got some guy instead. On the bright side, since that awful experience, I got a redress number and I haven't gotten the SSSS in years now.
Years ago, I had a ticket agent botch my itinerary during irregular ops. I complained, he was recalcitrant, and the conversation got heated. When he finally realized I was right, he gave me a corrected ticket minutes before the plane was to depart, and hand wrote SSSS on it. I missed my flight due to the secondary search.
I wrote United about the experience. They refunded me and told me they were retraining the agent. I’ve avoided United ever since.
Given the procedure, I suppose that if you're about to get SSSS, you will not be issued an electronic boarding pass on your phone, and must have a paper BP? That will also lengthen the amount of time margin you have to be at the airport unfortunately.
That's been my experience. It gets interesting when you have multiple passengers on the same itinerary. Sometimes, P2 gets a digital boarding pass, but I'll have to check-in with an agent, get printed, do the extra search before boarding, etc. It's a pain.
Secondary screening sh*t show
hahaha