jediwho

On my flight back from Sydney, I had SSSS on my boarding pass and was pulled at the gate for additional screening. I was told this is random. I fly quite a lot for work, vacations as well as mileage runs but am wondering if this was as random as UA said it was. Also, has anyone experienced increased SSSS after visiting IST as I am planning a vacation there sometime in the future. What happens to people who are just hubbing in IST?

Randyk47

We've been in and out of Turkey, including stays in Istanbul, maybe six times from 2012 to 2015 before the attempted coup and neither of us has been hit with the dreaded SSSS. We have friends who have been in and out of Istanbul maybe three times in 2014-2015 including a week long stay in 2015 and no SSSS. Point is that it's hard to say there's a direct cause and effect.

cerealmarketer

Datapoints...

Visited Turkey for a day earlier this month.

On return to US ZRH-JFK-SFO, ZRH-JFK was SSSS. JFK-SFO connection was not.

Next day, SFO-LAX-JFK was SSSS. LAX-JFK portion was not (which means could exit the terminal without secondary screening on return).

Flight tomorrow, JFK-SFO, not able to check-in, so as expected will be SSSS.

Interestingly, travel companions, one of whom is a US citizen, but birthplace in hotbed country, did not get SSSS on ZRH-JFK-SFO. They only travel once a year or so, and no Global Entry or Precheck enrollment, though were given Precheck on the JFK-SFO portion of ZRH-JFK-SFO!

All expected on my end. SFO agents very friendly and discreet about it all.

Last had SSSS on a YYZ-BOS-FRA where i flew into YYZ that morning on a separate ticket. BOS agents turned it into a production, which seems to be the MO there, though not sure it cost me much time given how long the regular line was.

DavidVenuto

I have had SSSS to Turkey recently. I use my non american passport to go to Turkey so it causes some confusion.

michael_v

Has anyone gotten SSSS after merely connecting though IST?

Miked3016

Just got my first SSSS after over 50 international trips the last 2 years. Also got my first X at global entry with referral code ER.

2 months ago my company booked me a last minute ticket ( 2 days before flight) MIA-IST and IST-LWO as 2 separate one way tickets. I was then through out Europe on a 2 month work trip and just returned to BOS last night.

Flew Oslo-Boston got SSSS at the airport (couldn't check in online). Then when I tried to use global entry on arrival I got an X with referral code ER. Went to the CBP agent and soon as he swipped my passport an alert popped up and he said that another CBP agent has some questions for me.

An agent escorted me to get my checked bags and took me to the secondary area, swiped my passport clicked around the computer silently about 5 minutes then asked how long I was out of the country and where I was. I explained my full itinerary and that my work booked the tickets (also mentioning they booked the one way to turkey with a further connection on a different ticket). He opened my bags did a very quick check of my items and asked my address and phone number and said I was all set and could leave. I asked why I was given an X at global entry and he said he was not sure (he knew for sure) but it shouldn't happen in the future.

Tonight I tried to check in online for a JetBlue domestic flight tomorrow and got the "we can not process your check in please see an airport agent". So it looks like I have been flagged SSSS because of my travel to Turkey.

Anyone have a similar experience recently? There are a lot of posts a few years old on this topic but none recently. Should i expect that I was flagged and this might happen again at global entry? I had GE for many years and never had any issues with this. Or was this a one time occurrence (the GE Inspection) since I was out of the country for 2 months and it started with a one way to turkey. I make at least 2 international trips a month for work so it is a huge hassle if it becomes a regular occurrence.

With the SSSS at TSA, I don't know if applying for a Redress number or a DHS trip report will help.

All I can hope is that I will be dropped off the list in the near future.

Often1

Something flagged you. Could be anything from the fact that so far as your departure from the US is concerned, you had a one-way to Turkey and then disappear off the radar for two months. Maybe it's something else. Not being flip, but you will never know.

If this continues, you should apply for a redress number.

STBCypriot

I get SSSS every time I fly from AUH to JFK. My usual itinerary is LCA-AUH-JFK and return. The last time it was ECN-IST-AUH-JFK and return. I buy my tickets well in advance. I've just gotten used to getting SSSS on the AUH-JFK flight. I have no idea why - I just expect it now. I am a non-descript caucasian middle-aged woman and I travel alone in business class.

pewpew

With these SSSS's that follow travel to Turkey, must such travel be on the same PNR as a trip to/from/via the US, or is it still possible to get flagged if you fly, say, FRA-IST RT? I'm not planning to go to Turkey until it settles down, but I'm curious

Maxwell Smart

Now that Turkish Airlines (TK) is part of TSA-Precheck, have there been any recent examples of SSSS after IST stopovers?

We have a planned trip to Egypt (tour package), USA-IST-CAI-IST-USA on TK, and I've scheduled a 1.5-day layover at IST for a very quick tour of the old city area on the outbound trip. Wondering if I should anticipate SSSS issues for the following few months afterwards.

I have GE, and hence TSA-Pre. I'm wondering if it's better to add my KTN number to the TK reservation, or better to leave it off?

Randyk47

I see no reason to leave your KTN off your reservation. If people were or are in fact getting the dreaded SSSS just for visiting or passing through Turkey then whether you're flying on a participating or non-participating airline is irrelevant. Personally my wife and I have been in and out of Turkey at least four times during the period some were reporting getting labeled with SSSS and we've not experienced any of that.

kmersh

About 2 years ago, way before TK was TSA Pre eligible, my wife and I had a 48 hour stop over in IST and we were both SSSSed afterwards for about two months before it seemed to drop off.

It was actually amusing as the TSA staff at our home airport got know us and we could just waive at the ID checker and he or she would have a Supervisor waiting for us upon arrival at the ID Check podium.

By the end of month one it became almost a joke as the pat down got less and less intrusive and by the time it dropped off it was basically like normal, except for a few more stares from our fellow passengers.

no2chem

Dunno if anyone still reads this thread, but I had an exciting itinerary these last two weeks on 9 tickets (~1-2 days per destination max).

Ticket1 (outbound): SFO-LAX-LHR-HEL-CFU
Ticket2: CFU-ORY
Ticket3: ORY-MRS
Ticket4: MRS-AMS-LHR
Ticket5 (outbound): LHR-SFO
Ticket5 (return): SFO-ORD-LHR-IST
Ticket6: IST-TLV
Ticket7: TLV-AMM-DOH-CAN-HKG-TPE
Ticket8: TPE-SIN
Ticket9: SIN-DOH-SOF
Ticket1 (return): SOF-LHR-JFK-LAX-SFO

Needless to say, on the final LHR-JFK segment, upon checkin, I got the dreaded SSSS. Let's see how long this lasts, I guess. I wonder if it was the routing, or just the 23 hour layover in IST on two tickets which triggered this.

SkyTeam777

Was anyone getting SSSS after transiting or spending 2-3 days in IST with their Pre-Check info entered? I know now getting a visa is an issue, but from the time TK became Pre-Check eligible, were people transiting or spending a few days still getting it for a few months?

Maxwell Smart

UPDATE on Mon 27 Nov:
I was able to do online checkin this morning for a domestic AA flight tomorrow. No issues, and my mobile boarding pass reflects my Pre-Check status.


Will let you know definitively next week, when I take my first trip here in the US on AA after returning from an overseas trip last month.

For that overseas trip on TK, I had entered my KTN into my PNR during checkin at IAD on the outbound, received pre-check, no muss no fuss. Had a long layover at IST, but stayed in international transit.

But during the return trip, at checkin in Cairo, my IST-IAD boarding pass alone had SSSS. Have no idea why.

On that return trip (CAI-IST-IAD), we were able to get a visa on arrival at IST (as described in this post: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28998638-post134.html) and did a few hours of walking around the city during our 14-hour layover.

The SSSS had zero effect in terms of security for the IST-IAD flight, including both initial landside-airside airport security at IST as well as the extra screening for USA-bound flights.

Obviously, the Turkey entry was not a factor in getting the SSSS, but we'll see what happens when I try OLCI for my AA flight next Tuesday.