What does "SSSS" on my boarding pass mean?
When I checked in for my American Airlines flight from Costa Rica back to the States, I noticed that my boarding pass had "SSSS" printed across the top left corner.
Nobody else in my party had this on their boarding pass, and I didn't notice that I was treated differently at the airport (security, waiting at the gate, etc.), with one exception:
During the boarding process, I was pulled aside, and after my bag was searched, the agent swabbed my hands with some kind of cloth that she then fed into a scanner. I seemed to be the only person in line who had to submit to this extra procedure.
What does "SSSS" mean? Does it only apply at certain airports/jurisdictions?
Best Answer
I have had SSSS once. I extended my stay - I was supposed to fly home let's say Thursday night, but Thursday morning I changed my tickets so I would fly home Friday night. When I checked in I was specifically told by the checkin agent that the change was the reason for the SSSS - I was taking a flight I had booked the previous day. She, and everyone else involved, kept apologizing and explaining. I went through a separate security line, diverted there by the "look at your passport" person you go through first in US airports. This was actually a feature since I got whisked to the front. Then I stood in the middle of a big open space (other passengers kind of stared at me, which I didn't like) while someone searched my carry-on reasonably thoroughly - I've had more thorough seaches post x-ray - and confiscated my face lotion.
On subsequent trips I didn't get it again, lending credence to the "last minute change" explanation. BTW I have heard for folks who got it randomly, reprinting their boarding passes at a kiosk resulted in an SSSS-free boarding pass. I haven't tried that myself and I don't know that I would bother - it was probably a net benefit to have had the special treatment (though that face lotion had been through lots of screenings before and was never confiscated.)
Just had another SSSS and decided to update this answer. There were several changes this time around, some of which may have been about time passing, and some because this was in YYZ and the other in SEA:
- I was not able to check in online. When I arrived to check in at the desk, I asked why I couldn't check in online (I was worried that it was because of my upgrade) and she told me it was because of the SSSS. She also showed it to me on my boarding pass and said "be sure you get two stamps. Immigration here (the usual place) and security here"
- It did not get me to the front of the line and I was not made to stand somewhere special
- My bags went through the Xray but weren't searched. I went through the metal detector and then the nude o scope.
- the longest part of the whole process was the CATSA folks looking for their rubber stamp so they could stamp my boarding pass to show I had cleared SSSS
I think this one was triggered by flying home from LAS landing at 6am, and then turning right around to go YYZ-SEA less than 12 hours later on a different airline, when I live here. That is a YYZ-LAS-YYZ trip smucked right up against a YYZ-SEA-YYZ trip. Also this YYZ-SEA trip was bought on relatively short notice (a few weeks.)
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What do letters on boarding pass mean?
A single letter on a boarding pass shows what class of ticket you bought. Most airlines have different fare classes, which are represented by different letters of the alphabet. F usually stands for first-class and C or J typically means business class.Why did I get an SSSS on my boarding pass?
SSSS stands for Secondary Security Screening Selection. It's a tag printed on your boarding pass to indicate that you have been selected to receive additional enhanced screening of your body and your personal items like carry-on baggage at the airport \u2014 either at the initial TSA screening area or the boarding gate.How can you avoid SSSS?
Unfortunately, there's no surefire way to prevent being selected for SSSS. However, if you notice that you're getting selected repeatedly, you can find out what a redress control number is and apply through the Department of Homeland Security Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP).How do I read my boarding pass?
Read the boarding pass. On the right side of the ticket, a tear-off section known as the boarding pass can be found. The boarding pass includes the name of the passenger, departure and arrival city, airline, carrier (this is the airline abbreviation), flight number and class.What does 'SSSS' on your boarding pass mean?
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Answer 2
Actually this one may be fairly simple: From Wikipedia. You've been selected for secondary Security Screening.
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