New Screening Measures and "Interviews" for Passengers on US Bound Flights
Nov 20, 2017, 9:54 pm
#122
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Location: Between AUS, EWR, and YTO In a little twisty maze of airline seats, all alike.. but I wanna go home with the armadillo
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safe!
Nov 21, 2017, 7:03 am
#124
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 995
Extra security checks at boarding gate [TATL flights from UK]
not sure if this has been mentioned elsewhere but TSA have apparently asked airlines to carry out extra security checks on transatlantic passengers. At the gate, a long list of passenger names were read out and asked to come forward for additional security checking. Luckily I was not on the list but my other half was. Surprising as we are both Global Entry so I suspect it is a random check rather than a targeted check. it slowed down boarding as boarding did not commence until all the passengers had been checked.
Nov 21, 2017, 7:17 am
#127
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Vale of Glamorgan
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 2,991
On my last trip to the US, in October, I not only had the "SSSS" on my boarding pass (despite using an ESTA I'd used several times before) but was also subjected to forensic questioning at the check-in desk with regard to other trips I'd made recently, my favourite destination for a holiday, my hobbies and interests and what I did for a living. It was all carried out in a very friendly, chatty style but it was clearly much more.
Nov 21, 2017, 7:28 am
#129
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: London - SW4
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 320
Was expecting something the other day on the 293 (to IAD) but saw nothing at all out of the ordinary. Not global entry and have gotten SSSS quite a few times over the past years (including ex-LHR and ex-AKL). Any possible reason for the discrepancies between flights?
Nov 21, 2017, 7:34 am
#130
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold, IHG Diamond
Posts: 356
On my last trip to the US, in October, I not only had the "SSSS" on my boarding pass (despite using an ESTA I'd used several times before) but was also subjected to forensic questioning at the check-in desk with regard to other trips I'd made recently, my favourite destination for a holiday, my hobbies and interests and what I did for a living. It was all carried out in a very friendly, chatty style but it was clearly much more.
Also got stopped by U.S. customs for full inspection post-immigration, but was told that was a random check and not related to SSSS or additional screening.
All checks were executed with utmost of professionalism; and the U.S. customs man was actually very friendly and descriptive in everything he was doing.
Nov 21, 2017, 7:42 am
#131
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
15-20 pax on a TATL widebody would not be out of the ordinary. Makes sense to call for those passengers in advance of boarding. As many of these as can be sorted rather than pulled out of the boarding line makes for a better boarding process and a better assurance that the aircraft closes and thus pushes as scheduled.
Some number of these are random and thus trying to reverse engineering as to prior travel, GE, and the like won't inform much going forward.
Some number of these are random and thus trying to reverse engineering as to prior travel, GE, and the like won't inform much going forward.
Nov 21, 2017, 7:50 am
#132
Community Director
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Norwich, UK
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As this is a generic issue and not confined to BA, we'll move it to our Travel Safety/Security forum where the practical experiences are likely to be of interest.
/mod
/mod
Nov 21, 2017, 7:52 am
#133
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Flatland
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold 1MM, BA Gold, UA Peon
Posts: 6,111
Did the extra screening seem to apply any different standards to what you could bring on board than the LHR security screening does?
I.e. did people either seem at risk of having items taken away that they could bring on a different flight through LHR security, or having items obtained airside taken away?
I.e. did people either seem at risk of having items taken away that they could bring on a different flight through LHR security, or having items obtained airside taken away?
Nov 21, 2017, 9:28 am
#134
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
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TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator
Nov 21, 2017, 10:45 am
#135
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Orlando
Programs: DL 4MM/PM, UA 1MM/Gold, AA Paper
Posts: 1,386
I spoke to a USA Airlines Station Manager a couple of months ago in the UK while I was checking in for a TATL flight on my way home to the USA, after I had SSSS printed out on my BP. He said they had been used to seeing 2 or 3 people on a flight get SSSS'd but now the number had increased to 20 to 30 s flight. He blamed it on the change in the US administration instructions to increase security screening on international flights to the USA. It does seem to be completely random because I have GE and also various other security clearance in the USA and yet I have gotten SSSS'd on two TATL flights this year. IMHO it is just more harassment of airline passengers and does not achieve much, if anything.