Originally Posted by Mats
I attempted a minimal-clothing adventure. I knew I had been SSSS'ed because my boarding card wouldn't print at home. So I deliberately wore soccer shorts and a t-shirt. No socks, no shoes, nothing else (yes, it was winter.) This stopped nothing. I got my bare skin wanded and patted down. Who knows? Maybe I had put on FAKE SKIN! Better safe than sorry!
It's sad but I decided to forego a trip this weekend in part due to SSSS. I was asked to fly to Washington. I knew that if I bought a ticket to DC with less than a week's notice that I'd be a guaranteed SSSS. I really just don't want to deal with it, so I'll stay home. It's pathetic, but I really don't need a pat-down and a wanding right now. I'm all stocked-up for this year.
Mats -- Several times I wore shorts and non-metal sandals the summer expecting to get sent to secondary as punishment for not taking off my sandals. When my bare legs were wanded, I said to the screener (not yelling, but loud enough that other passengers and screeners could hear me), "Do you realize how
stupid you look wanding bare skin?" I rarely got a response but I noticed lots of red faces of screeners. If I got the "I'm just doing my job" response, my reply was something like, "Is that what you look in the mirror and say to yourself every morning before you come to work?" Try this type of dialogue next time. A little bit of psychological warfare at the screener level never hurts.
Regarding your second paragraph, please write to your airline and explain to them that the hassle of SSSS cost them at least one ticket's worth of revenue.