January 10, 2005 | SSSS = Secondary Screening Shown Silly?

Here's a funny moment from the forums over at Flyer Talk from a frequent flyer who knows what the SSSS means on his ticket and who brazenly (and pretty humorously) demonstrates how that code undermines the security it is meant to trigger.

I was flying EWR-IAH (actually ZFV-EWR-IAH, but ZFV-EWR was on Amtrak, so that doesn't count) with the future mrs. themicah on CO. We were booked on the same PNR well in advance, but at online check in I split the reservation to get the upgrade and it gave me a new confirmation number. It let me print her BP, but mine gave me a "this is not a boarding pass" sheet to print instead of my BP, so I figured I'd been SSSSed.

At the airport I printed my BP from a kiosk, and got the S's as expected. The two of us went to the elite line, and they sent me over to Lane 8 and my fiancee through the regular lanes. I went through the wanding and patdown, then walked out of the SSSS penalty box expecting to find my wonderful patient fiancee--and she was still walking through the metal detector down at her lane. I had beaten her through security.

On the return, the same process repeated (no OLCI BP for me, but yes for her, etc.). And again I made it through security about 30 seconds before her. Surprise! SSSS = super speedy secondary selection. Who knew?

So for all you whiners, I say SSSS ain't so bad! I got a nice backrub and a chance to stretch a little (arms and legs out for the wand). And I still got through faster than anybody got through the regular lines. What's not to like?

(I'm kidding, of course)

But here's the absurd part. My fiancee and I often mix our things in two bags when we travel. Because I had advance warning of SSSS, I gave her the bag with our underwear and whatnot, and I took the bag with my laptop and our lunches. No problems. On the way back, I was feeling a little mischievous. We waited until AFTER the ID checker had noticed my SSSS (and her lack thereof) and started to direct me to the special lane, at which point I said (right in front of him) "Honey, why don't you take this bag through the regular line, and I'll take the smaller one." The guy didn't bat an eyelash.

Ah, "security."

Now, astute passengers know when they are going to be flagged for secondary screening (with the SSSS on their boarding pass) simply by trying to check in online. If they cannot, or get an odd looking document, they know that they will face extra scrutiny. The same for anyone who attempts to check in at an airport kiosk, but is told to go to the ticket counter instead.

Now, that pre-emptive knowledge is great for anyone wanting to make sure they don't miss a flight. It's also good if you are traveling with a friend and want to avoid having the TSA searching through your bag.

The problem here reminds me more than just a little of the test-your-shoes boxes the TSA pulled from airports.

Posted by Ryan Singel at January 10, 2005 11:03 AM

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Here's a funny moment from the forums over at Flyer Talk from a frequent flyer who knows what the SSSS means on his ticket and who brazenly (and pretty humorously) demonstrates how that code undermines the security it is meant to trigger. [Read More]

Tracked on January 11, 2005 01:31 PM

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Posted by: Sodax at April 11, 2006 12:18 AM

Posted by: Michael Young at July 13, 2006 04:38 AM