Flew out of TPA to PHL last Wednesday for a family emergency in West Chester,Pa.
Mind you these were last minute reservations on US Airways.

Went through TPA security just fine.Heard the typical ID/BPs out and laptotops out of the bag,other then that it was a breeze going through.

I returned last night from PHL to TPA and got the Dreaded SSSS on my BP,so I go up and get ready to go through th CP.

I hear the typical ID/BPs out,laptops out of the bags.
Then I heard the tso at the WTMD say"If your propety has not gone through the Xray please dont come thru the WTMD." Which made sense to me.

So I push my bin and bag thru the Xray and walk thru the WTMD show my ID/BP to the TSO,and asks me to step in the BOX because of the SSSS then says "Male screener ,no alarm."

So i wait about 45 sec and the male screener is asking me waht stuff is mine,so I point it out.He hands it off to another screener.This is all within my sight ,I never lost sight of my property.
The male screener takes me over to the chair and asks me if I've ever been thru the SSSS before.I said "No,but Ive read about it on FlyerTalk Forums."
He's like "Oh,really." and does a very quick pat down.He finds my wallet in my back pocket,asks me to take it he opens it in front of me and hands it back.
Then we go to the table which is 2 steps from the chair,hands me my ID/BP and we were done.
The whole procedure took about 2 minutes and wasnt that unpleasant but still a pain.Before anyone asks they did change the gloves when I asked them to.

The real PITA was walking a mile to gate A24,Good god they need some trams or something in that place.

On my last weather re-route in DTW I was subjected to haraSSSSment. It was similar to your description - cursory and very quick. I think that the TSO's have come to recognize the stupidity of haraSSSSment and they have managed to streamline it - the exception being the retaliatory secondary.

Is there really a need to quote the post right before yours when it is the only post in the thread? Really? I think we would know what you're talking about.

Making up your own words in a post is about an effective as getting your point across as bringing up a Hitler analogy.

The main point of what you're saying is that you've had secondary screening happen as well and it wasn't that bad. I'm not sure how you make the magical jump to the screeners must think it is stupid. I guess if you didn't do that, the overall point of your post would be that secondary screening really isn't that bad and the TSA follow pretty good practices when they have to do these.

I've had this happen once in the last year. My experience was the same. It was short, transparent and it didn't take that long. In terms of my travel day, it's far down the list of annoyances and problems. Quite often, the secondary screening actually makes security faster as they usher you through the system.

YAY! The general is back in all his hilarious glory! So this SSSS treatment you got, did it slow down your 37 second average through security? Did they find any lead in your head?

It was probably two minutes. Great that you quoted the post right before yours. Rather intelligent move. No doubt that nobody would known what you were talking about otherwise.

They didn't find any lead. People who write well thought out and reasoned posts tend to (usually, but not always) have less lead than those that just ..... and whine about everything.

Tend to less lead? I don't understand your grammar. In case you can't tell, I'm quoting the post directly above mine.

2 minutes for a complete SSSS for the general? That's believable.

Not sure about the general but...

My first and only SSSS (as I posted in a thread last week) was in STL, after a weather re-route from CO to AA, about ten days ago. I was directed to the first class line, taken straight through, given a quick 30 second patdown, had my bag opened (not even looked into) and swabed, and I was done in under 3 minutes. Thirty seconds of that was explaing to the two TSOs, who asked why so many SSSS were coming through, that there had been a weather can'x and re-route from CO to AA triggering many "last second purchase" SSSSs.

Ciao,
FH

Jello,

From the one way ticket thread on the main page of the forum now.

"I buy one way tickets twice a week, and all I get is a simple SSSSS. I actually like getting it because it enables me to skip the security lines and gets me through faster."

That's two other people who have noted my experience with secondary screening. It doesn't happen that often, but when it does, it doesn't take that much time.

I agree that it has been streamlined and takes less time now, but the entire notion of additional screening is just stupid and wrong. There should be one standard that is adequate for all pasengers, all of the time. Otherwise, the TSA is acknowledging that standard screening is inadequate.

So if the TSA staff have a serious suspicion that someone is doing something wrong they should no means at all to do anything else? That's essentially what you're saying. Either everyone gets that level of screening or nobody does. I'm not sure you'd like the latent consequences of that.

Assigning a passenger to SSSS status because of a weather re-booking has nothing to do with whether TSA screeners suspect a passenger of wrongdoing or ill intent. The fact that screeners in STL asked FlyingHoustonian why so many SSSS passengers were coming through the checkpoint illustrates that the screeners did not have a reason to suspect those passengers.

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Patrick,

SJC said that, "There should be one standard that is adequate for all pasengers, all of the time." He didn't say that buying a last minute ticket should not result in additional screening. His statement said that people, no matter what the reason, should only ever be subject to the one screening. Your post talked about having a reason to suspect passengers. If you followed SJC's protocol, it wouldn't matter if anyone was suspected. Everyone would only be subject to the basic screening.