It could make life difficult for you…
Have you ever had the letters SSSS on your boarding pass while flying to America? If you did, it probably caused you some annoying delays.
SSSS stands for Secondary Security Screening Selection or Secondary Security Screening Selectee. When you’re selected for this, you won’t be able to print your boarding pass from home and will have to get it printed from a desk at the airport, where you will likely face a barrage of questions according to Lifehacker.
The meaning of the four letters became public knowledge when a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) handbook was leaked online a few years ago.
The document leaked in 2009 bears a warning: “NO PART OF THIS RECORD MAY BE DISCLOSED TO PERSONS WITHOUT A ‘NEED TO KNOW.'”
Basically, once your boarding pass is printed from your desk, it will have SSSS printed on it, and you will face increased scrutiny at every checkpoint in the airport as well as extra screenings at the TSA checkpoint.
Passengers who are selected for this are warned that the process may take an additional 30 minutes and to factor this into your journey to ensure you don’t miss your flight.
Paying with cash for a ticket, flying to a high risk destinations and having your name on a ‘no-fly’ list are all reasons you may have SSSS placed on your boarding pass.
While there’s also random selection and it may happen to you every now and then, if you match the above criteria, the chances are you will be selected more often.
