There are a few things to consider before traveling to the United States. However, people whose travel documents are marked with the letters SSSS should take a lot of time and nerves with them. How and why this can happen, what those affected should be prepared for – TRAVELBOOK explains the unpleasant ticket code.
Online check-in can make life easier for travellers. For example, they save some time that others have to plan for queuing at the check-in counter at the airport. But sometimes online check-in doesn’t work. This can be due to technical errors, sometimes it’s the airline and other times it’s because you got a SSSS ticket. Here, failure to check-in online would be just the first of other inconveniences that one might expect…
Also interesting: What exactly is a stand-by air ticket?
This means the SSSS code on the plane ticket
The SSSS code stands for Secondary Security Screening Selection, which means “selected for secondary security screening”. This means that passengers marked accordingly must undergo a particularly stringent security check. The US authorities introduced the aviation security measure after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. It explains why passengers with SSSS status are in most cases unable to check-in online: they are said to have to contact the airport staff for a more thorough investigation.
This is what travelers with SSSS status can expect at the airport
The reinforced security check means, on the one hand, the intensive inspection of luggage and everything that the passenger intends to take on board. Additionally, travelers with SSSS status should expect detailed pre-departure interviews at the check-in counter and often at the boarding gate as well. The security personnel responsible for this act on behalf of the US authorities, he explains Aviation expert Cord Schellenberg in conversation with TRAVELBOOK. It is not uncommon for SSSS passengers to be re-interviewed in screened rooms after landing in the US. This can then become particularly unpleasant: during this period, respondents do not have access to their hand luggage or mobile phone. Overall, the procedure can be quite lengthy: SSSS travelers sometimes need a few extra hours for the entire check-in process.
Who gets an SSSS air ticket?
In theory, it can happen to anyone. The SSSS status is usually assigned randomly. It must not mean that a name has already been documented in the context of terrorist actions. However, if it is him or if a person has had problems or even stood out on previous trips to the United States, this naturally increases the likelihood that he will receive an SSSS ticket.
“Another criterion could be that the traveler has booked a one-way ticket,” explains Cord Schellenberg. And: if someone travels without checked baggage. Similarly, user reports on the platform show “quora“, that very short-term bookings are often recorded with particular attention, together with travelers who have not paid for the ticket themselves or have paid for it in cash.
But these are at best guidelines based on empirical values. Because clearly: There are no known reliable standards according to which the US authorities organize their additional checks. According to Schellenberg, this would contradict the purpose of the checks and ultimately show potentially unreliable travelers how they can protect themselves.
