The problem is, from the way I read it there is no appeals process in place for those who were placed on the list for malicious or political reasons. This only covers "mistaken identity" issues. People like myself or that CNN reporter are still going to be fisted at the gate.

I'm sure some TSO rodeo clown will be happy to point you out to the rest of the passengers.

I totally do not tolerate SSSS because of irate passengers. Everyone at my airport knows my stance. My theroy is that if you don't have a thick enough skin and you can't realize that 99% of the time that the attack isn't against you but against TSA, then you don't belong here. I've said that to several new hires along with every employee that I've known. It takes a whole lot to break me.

Only way I'd crack is if I felt physically threatened. I've only assumed a defensive posture once when a passenger had a clenched fist during hand wanding. Other than that, say what you want. You can't offend me. I stress to my crew to just get the job done effectively and as efficiently as possible. If it gets too hot, call me.

I just don't see what purpose there is for any TSO to engage in retaliatory screening. Why would you want them to stick around longer than they need to?

Because you (or someone else in your position) can. Because it's a little bit of power that you have over the passenger in front of you ... and if you choose to exercise that power, there's frankly very little that the passenger can do about it.

To be fair ... this is hardly unique to the TSA. I knew a manager at a former employer who would make arbitrary decisions that caused a great deal of inconvenience to his subordinates, solely because it demonstrated that he was the boss.

I'm glad to see that you don't see the purpose in retaliatory screening; it shows that you're a nice person.

Actually, it will get to be hell for all of us, not just listed people.

TSA has stated that they - not the airlines - will select people "randomly" for searches. Which means the standard SSSS may go away, but those of us who are very frequent travelers will no longer get the flag inhibited because of our status. Meaning that ALL of us will be more susceptible to invasive searches "just because".

And if they need more justification for their budget, they can simply "select" more people for "random" searches.

I always get SSSS -- irrespective of whether it's an airline I have "elite status" with or not. I also find no correlation with cash v credit card, one-way v return, or anything else.

On my last trip to the USA, I didn't get SSSS for the first time. I haven't changed anything.

Well... so ends CAPPS.

Uneventfully, just no selectees screened at all today.

And so haraSSSSment has at least for now... come to an end.

And so the era of permission from the government to travel begins.

Interesting. I did a dummy booking on United & Delta, and neither airlines asked for my birthdate when making the reservation...I thought Secure Flight required that info? *confused look*

Nothing personal, but you're a cog in the system. Screeners know that if a passenger calls for a supervisor because of the extra (retaliatory) screening, the supervisor will likely let the extra screening stand, regardless of the purpose.

Did you use a frequent flyer number and a credit card for the purchase?

It doesn't take too much genius to get from there to a birthdate.

Not Necessarily!
I have witnessed and have done this myself. A passenger asked for me and explained his situation. I took the TSO to the side and asked if he had any grounds for the screening. The TSO stated, "Not really." I told him to let him go. That was quite a while ago. I haven't had any issues with that in a long time.

Today, with "random screening" the TSO could claim that and the STSO would really have no choice but to allow it to continue. If I see that the TSO is going out of his way to pick someone out, I would intervene. Random is random, not selective.

Serious question ... how does TSA define "random" in this context?

I'm almost a mathematician ... and have just enough training to know that (a) "random" has a very specific meaning, and (b) most people suck at trying to create randomness.

It's entirely possible that a given TSO could be trying to make "random" choices for secondary screenings, but unconsciously selecting people who fit a particular profile. This is not necessarily the fault of the TSO, of course. (Vegas makes tons of money off of people who think they understand what "random" means ...)

Just got SSSS, is this dead completely yet?

Hmm well I thought I'd read the entire thread before posting, to see if what I've read/heard on the news has been posted yet.

Yes SSSS is going away. However, selective screening is NOT. What is going to happen (from what I read anyways), is that the airlines are working to go to a 3D barcode method to make it "harder for fake boarding passes to be made".

So in other words, instead of having your boarding pass looked at and deciding whether it says SSSS on it, the 3D barcode gets scanned and the ID gets matched to the barcode reader. Does SSSS disappear? Its possible that the selective screening will likely show up on the reader and the person will still get sent to the "other" line.

So yes its going away, is selective screening? QUite possibly not.