"Manual Check in"
Nov 8, 2019, 9:08 pm
#16
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More and more Delta outstations departing to the US require manual check-in. This is so that some contract security employees (working on behalf of Delta who is in turn working on behalf of absurd and ineffectual US government policy) can ask you a set of behavioral interview questions with the goal of identifying travelers perceived as high risk for secondary screening done at the gate.
It has nothing to do with the typical SSSS tag as mentioned above - it doesn't mean you have been specially selected - if it is at an airport like I mentioned above, all travelers have to go through this security theater. This includes major Delta hubs such as CDG (not sure about AMS - this wasn't the case last time I went there, but it was over a year ago).
If you choose to cooperate with the contract employee (who likely speaks barely passable English and will be reading from a script on a tablet), you will generally not be required to take any other action. If you choose to ignore them and refuse to answer any questions, you will just have your carry-on bag searched at the gate.
It has nothing to do with the typical SSSS tag as mentioned above - it doesn't mean you have been specially selected - if it is at an airport like I mentioned above, all travelers have to go through this security theater. This includes major Delta hubs such as CDG (not sure about AMS - this wasn't the case last time I went there, but it was over a year ago).
If you choose to cooperate with the contract employee (who likely speaks barely passable English and will be reading from a script on a tablet), you will generally not be required to take any other action. If you choose to ignore them and refuse to answer any questions, you will just have your carry-on bag searched at the gate.
Nov 8, 2019, 9:09 pm
#17
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had this happen in HKG. the accent was VERY thick. I typically try to read lips in those cases so I can help myself figure out what is being said. unfortunately, being in Asia, the gentleman was wearing a face mask that obscured his lips. it took a while
if I recall, in the previous scenario, I had my bag searched at the gate as well
if I recall, in the previous scenario, I had my bag searched at the gate as well
Nov 8, 2019, 9:29 pm
#18
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Nov 8, 2019, 9:34 pm
#19
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Sure, if by random you mean not random. There is indeed some true random selection, but the majority of the selections are pre-determined based on an arbitrary risk algorithm. While just one of many variables considered, ask any traveler who has spent time in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, or other countries the DHS deems as high risk how much more they seem to be "randomly" selected than before. The small number of true random selections is so that the DHS can pretend it is random rather than abusive and discriminatory.
Yes, there's certainly non-random that are due to DHS flagging a person.
Not being able to check-in due to government regulations can also be because the international travel document by itself may appear to the airline as not being evidence by itself of the person being admissible. I can go into a rather humorous story about a flight a few days ago where this was the issue and the check-in reps started making stuff up about what is required for EU dual-citizens with valid EU country passports to be admissible to the EU, but it would just divert the discussion and do no one any good.
I am 100% certain that for US-bound international flights, more weeks than not, I see SSSS hits which are due to manual, computer-aided selection -- by the relevant government authorities -- and/or are due to the airline/airline security contractor. While such dynamic may or may not be a minority of the "random" or "non-random" SSSS hits, it happens routinely.
Most US-bound flights' airlines can't print a PreCheck boarding pass with SSSS on it from most foreign airports serving flights to the US -- and that is speaking of just PreCheck-eligible airlines from airports where PreCheck boarding passes are issued. I won't discuss this further, so don't ask.
I am 100% certain that for US-bound international flights, more weeks than not, I see SSSS hits which are due to manual, computer-aided selection -- by the relevant government authorities -- and/or are due to the airline/airline security contractor. While such dynamic may or may not be a minority of the "random" or "non-random" SSSS hits, it happens routinely.
Most US-bound flights' airlines can't print a PreCheck boarding pass with SSSS on it from most foreign airports serving flights to the US -- and that is speaking of just PreCheck-eligible airlines from airports where PreCheck boarding passes are issued. I won't discuss this further, so don't ask.
Nov 9, 2019, 8:48 am
#20
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This part is confusing. I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Yes, governments purposefully force certain high risk passengers to undergo additional security, thus getting SSSS. The rest are randomly selected by computer. The selection may use weighting as I note above. However it is still random. Buying a one way ticket with cash doesn't always result in SSSS. The weighting may make it a near certainty, but it doesn't guarantee it it.
Among the ways passengers get hit with SSSS, there is also the situation of some passengers being manually selected for additional searches by the airline/airline security contractor or manually by government employees for a particular flights. It's not just two (nor even just three) ways of being selected for SSSS screening on US-bound flights.
On the listed-factor-weighing for a bunch of the SSSS target selection, that is an indication of a selection that is not random. What's confusing is how some people use "random" for things that truly aren't random.
It's possible to get hit with SSSS that is neither part of being blacklisted by the government, not a selection by the government, and that exceeds the USG's quota search requirement (which some call "random", whether it were truly random or not).
Last edited by GUWonder; Nov 9, 2019 at 8:57 am
Nov 9, 2019, 9:07 am
#21
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For what it's worth, DL has been the least likely of the US3 to hit me with SSSS boarding passes, in terms of frequency of SSSS hits on US-bound international flights. AA has been the most likely to hit me with SSSS boarding passes; meanwhile UA has been closer to DL than to AA for my flights. I do most of my long-haul flights to the US on bookings made within 24 hours of scheduled departure, and this has been as applicable to my DL flights as to my UA flights as to my AA flights. Of my last 20 US-bound international flights on US carriers, 0 SSSS hits for me.
Nov 10, 2019, 5:44 am
#22
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Lucky message for one of us tomorrow's flight out of SDQ. The other one on a different PNR was able to check in (same passport country and type, same visa type, same itinerary, same stay in the US). When I cannot check in online because they need to verify my US visa (Which the DL website sometimes do and sometimes does not), I get a completely different message. When selected for SSSS the following one appears:
Nov 11, 2019, 11:18 am
#23
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Lucky message for one of us tomorrow's flight out of SDQ. The other one on a different PNR was able to check in (same passport country and type, same visa type, same itinerary, same stay in the US). When I cannot check in online because they need to verify my US visa (Which the DL website sometimes do and sometimes does not), I get a completely different message. When selected for SSSS the following one appears:
Nov 11, 2019, 11:44 am
#24
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No other airline I know has this problem with OLCI that DL has.
