Why did I get the dreaded SSSS despite my GE/Pre✓/Nexus status? [merged threads]
#273
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Number one shame on me for not noticing something unusual on my boarding pass. I saw the SSSS on my AA MAD to DFW, but had no idea what it meant.
I am AA EXP, Only nondomestic flights have been to the UK Germany and Spain.
I am GE and TSA precheck.
Was not pre-check on my MAD issues boarding pass for my connecting flight so I had gate agent in Dallas reprint my connecting boarding pass hoping you would have pre-check, but did not.
only thing I could think was different was I got a new passport and did not update the passport number in my American Airlines profile and when I put in my passport number when I try to login online it rejected me, But that was before my DFW to Madrid outbound flight and I present my new passport to the airport at a boarding pass no issues heading to Madrid only on the way back from Madrid .
from what I can tell all of my new SSSS extra screen friends were all US citizens heading back to the states.
if he truly is random which I don't believe that makes no sense whatsoever what a waste of resources. Aging myopic dermatologists are probably a low risk group
I am AA EXP, Only nondomestic flights have been to the UK Germany and Spain.
I am GE and TSA precheck.
Was not pre-check on my MAD issues boarding pass for my connecting flight so I had gate agent in Dallas reprint my connecting boarding pass hoping you would have pre-check, but did not.
only thing I could think was different was I got a new passport and did not update the passport number in my American Airlines profile and when I put in my passport number when I try to login online it rejected me, But that was before my DFW to Madrid outbound flight and I present my new passport to the airport at a boarding pass no issues heading to Madrid only on the way back from Madrid .
from what I can tell all of my new SSSS extra screen friends were all US citizens heading back to the states.
if he truly is random which I don't believe that makes no sense whatsoever what a waste of resources. Aging myopic dermatologists are probably a low risk group
A similar thing happened to my daughter on our way back home from Madrid this past June. She got an SSSS on her boarding card, despite having GE. In addition, she did not get Pre✓ on the boarding pass for her connecting flight in the US. Having that boarding pass reprinted in the US did not bring back the Pre✓. I suspect that American's security contractors in MAD had to meet a quota for secondary inspections.
BTW, I've merged your question into an existing discussion of that topic.
TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator
#274
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: AA Advantage, SWA Rapid Rewards
Posts: 5
SSSS
In regards to the question of updating my passport number with global entry the answer is no
I got a new passport last fall and didn't think about trying to update GE until right before an international trip but global entry worked perfectly fine when I returned back from London and global entry worked fine on the trip back from Madrid there was no global entry problem the only problem was SSSS in Madrid
I got a new passport last fall and didn't think about trying to update GE until right before an international trip but global entry worked perfectly fine when I returned back from London and global entry worked fine on the trip back from Madrid there was no global entry problem the only problem was SSSS in Madrid
#275
Join Date: Jun 2009
Programs: GE
Posts: 247
I am not sure why people are confused by the concept of random SSSS. The entire idea of handing it out randomly is that it happens for no reason at all. Everyone, equally, independent of TT or Redress status.
Handing out random SSSS by computer is probably a much fairer system than profiling people at the checkpoint by their name or looks.
A one-time SSSS, especially on an international US-inbound flight (where they seem to like to hand out random SSSS a lot) is probably just that, a one-time random SSSS.
Multiple consecutive SSSS is probably not random. Travel history, shared name with someone else, being on some list. Non-random SSSS is what redress is designed to fix.
Handing out random SSSS by computer is probably a much fairer system than profiling people at the checkpoint by their name or looks.
A one-time SSSS, especially on an international US-inbound flight (where they seem to like to hand out random SSSS a lot) is probably just that, a one-time random SSSS.
Multiple consecutive SSSS is probably not random. Travel history, shared name with someone else, being on some list. Non-random SSSS is what redress is designed to fix.
#276
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I've flown ZRH-JFK a lot. Even though I'm in GE, once my bp had SSSS = extra inspection at the gate; there was a list of about 20 names all "randomly" SSSSd [for intl to USA on US carriers, this is done by DHS].
PS: all my bps (except the one noted) from ZRH-JFK note TSA PRECHECK..a meaningless concept out of ZRH.
PS: all my bps (except the one noted) from ZRH-JFK note TSA PRECHECK..a meaningless concept out of ZRH.
#277
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I've flown ZRH-JFK a lot. Even though I'm in GE, once my bp had SSSS = extra inspection at the gate; there was a list of about 20 names all "randomly" SSSSd [for intl to USA on US carriers, this is done by DHS].
PS: all my bps (except the one noted) from ZRH-JFK note TSA PRECHECK..a meaningless concept out of ZRH.
PS: all my bps (except the one noted) from ZRH-JFK note TSA PRECHECK..a meaningless concept out of ZRH.
Last edited by TWA884; Jul 26, 2019 at 9:06 am
#278
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Peterborough, UK
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Posts: 1,504
is there any link for the people that get the intl SSSS's (inbound to the US) when these actually stop.
I thought mine would stop when getting GE but i still have it last time i went (a few months ago), but overall it would of been about 3 years ive been getting these in intl inbounds. I still get my precheck when flying back to europe or domestic in the US too.
I thought mine would stop when getting GE but i still have it last time i went (a few months ago), but overall it would of been about 3 years ive been getting these in intl inbounds. I still get my precheck when flying back to europe or domestic in the US too.
#279
Join Date: Mar 2013
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Uh oh--- just got this on AA inbound international flight. Assume it is SSSS
"These passengers are checked in but need to get boarding passes at the airport:"
[1/3 pax names]
"These passengers are checked in but need to get boarding passes at the airport:"
[1/3 pax names]
#280
Join Date: Jun 2009
Programs: GE
Posts: 247
is there any link for the people that get the intl SSSS's (inbound to the US) when these actually stop.
I thought mine would stop when getting GE but i still have it last time i went (a few months ago), but overall it would of been about 3 years ive been getting these in intl inbounds. I still get my precheck when flying back to europe or domestic in the US too.
I thought mine would stop when getting GE but i still have it last time i went (a few months ago), but overall it would of been about 3 years ive been getting these in intl inbounds. I still get my precheck when flying back to europe or domestic in the US too.
#282
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The number of times I've seen American infants/toddlers hit with this on CA-US flights is more than I care to count. The consequence of such selection is sometimes that the screener at the Canadian airport asks for an accompanying adult -- if there is more than one accompanying adult, they sometimes may even choose which one -- will have to be the replacement target due to the infant/toddler being selected. Having PreCheck for flights on the same itinerary or having Global Entry won't commonly make a difference for this kind of circumstance.
Beside the self check-in inhibition tied to this kind of hit, much of the rest of what goes on varies by the circumstances. Usually the rest of what goes on is considerably different than what happens at US airports for those with such hit designations on their boarding passes.
By "name collision", include people being manually selected by those government employees or airline/airline contractor employees prejudiced against certain kinds of passengers whose names or other factors may give the appearance (to the selectors) of the passenger being a part of group(s) disliked by the prejudicial target selector. That happens even independent of travel history, independent of formal governmental blacklisting, and even independent of name-related confusion with those blacklisted in governmental electronic systems relevant to this area.
TRIP/redress process doesn't get the airline/airline security contractors to cut-back on the rate of being selected to hit by this on US-bound international flights. When it comes to passengers who only see this on US-bound international flights, take it that most of these selections on US-bound flights are not a sign of being formally and indefinitely blacklisted by the government and requiring any action (toward the government) on the part of such passengers to see that rate of selection drop.
It's the airline/airline contractors that are driving most of these selections of passengers who get PreCheck on most/all US domestic flights (and even US-originating international flights) yet get this hit only for (some or even multiple) flights headed to the US. Nowadays, such selections (i.e., passengers getting hit by this only when headed to the US but otherwise getting PreCheck on other kind of flights operated by the US carriers) account for the vast majority of passengers on US airlines hit by this.
It's well possible to get hit by this kind of selection on US-bound travel and still get PreCheck on the continuing leg. It's well possible to get PreCheck on the US-departing flights always and yet repeatedly get hit by this SSSS kind of stuff. The DHS Redress/TRIP process generally doesn't do any good for most all of those hit by this kind of stuff.
When flying to the US, avoid flying to the US on US carriers out of airports with US CBP/IAP working the airport, for then you'll probably see this less frequently; and if you avoid flying on US carriers to the US, you'll probably get the extra attention even less frequently. Those are the more effective ways of dealing with this when the government keeps giving you Precheck on US-originating flights.
Beside the self check-in inhibition tied to this kind of hit, much of the rest of what goes on varies by the circumstances. Usually the rest of what goes on is considerably different than what happens at US airports for those with such hit designations on their boarding passes.
TRIP/redress process doesn't get the airline/airline security contractors to cut-back on the rate of being selected to hit by this on US-bound international flights. When it comes to passengers who only see this on US-bound international flights, take it that most of these selections on US-bound flights are not a sign of being formally and indefinitely blacklisted by the government and requiring any action (toward the government) on the part of such passengers to see that rate of selection drop.
It's the airline/airline contractors that are driving most of these selections of passengers who get PreCheck on most/all US domestic flights (and even US-originating international flights) yet get this hit only for (some or even multiple) flights headed to the US. Nowadays, such selections (i.e., passengers getting hit by this only when headed to the US but otherwise getting PreCheck on other kind of flights operated by the US carriers) account for the vast majority of passengers on US airlines hit by this.
It's well possible to get hit by this kind of selection on US-bound travel and still get PreCheck on the continuing leg. It's well possible to get PreCheck on the US-departing flights always and yet repeatedly get hit by this SSSS kind of stuff. The DHS Redress/TRIP process generally doesn't do any good for most all of those hit by this kind of stuff.
is there any link for the people that get the intl SSSS's (inbound to the US) when these actually stop.
I thought mine would stop when getting GE but i still have it last time i went (a few months ago), but overall it would of been about 3 years ive been getting these in intl inbounds. I still get my precheck when flying back to europe or domestic in the US too.
I thought mine would stop when getting GE but i still have it last time i went (a few months ago), but overall it would of been about 3 years ive been getting these in intl inbounds. I still get my precheck when flying back to europe or domestic in the US too.
Last edited by TWA884; Jul 26, 2019 at 9:06 am
#283
Join Date: Mar 2013
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i was right, it was ssss inbound international but painless at the airport. They filled out a log book etc but nothing major. Didn't show on my connecting domestic, but I didn't have my usual precheck while the other two Pax did. I reprinted bp in us at a kiosk in terminal and it showed ssss again. Let's see how long this lasts. The security lady in the international departure airport said it was an American Airlines issue and she showed me 2 other people on the same flight also ssss-ed.
#284
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 2,403
Flights within the USA or departing the USA
Flights to the USA operated by US carriers, including Canada to the USA
Flights operated entirely outside of the US but operated by US carriers
Flights operated by non-US carriers to the USA
Some airlines have software that will designate selectees.
- SSSS is not common but it still happens -- especially to last-minute, one-way travellers without frequent flyer accounts, and not paying with a credit card.
- Paid TSA PreCheck membership, NEXUS, Sentri, and Global Entry essentially protect one from SSSS.
- There are exceedingly rare random exceptions for paid TSA PreCheck, NEXUS, Sentri, and Global Entry members
- Depending on the airport and TSA staff, the process can be intrusive and humiliating or swift and passage to the front of the queue.
- SSSS is designated by airline software under the direction of the TSA.
Flights to the USA operated by US carriers, including Canada to the USA
Flights operated entirely outside of the US but operated by US carriers
- A certain percentage of passengers must get SSSS screening regardless of their designated risk status.
- At "Category X" airports, passengers are interviewed (usually twice), and airline or contract security personnel may assign SSSS status.
- Paid TSA PreCheck, NEXUS, Sentri, and Global Entry do not matter. These risk assessment tools should be used, but they are not.
- SSSS status may be printed on a boarding card, written on a list for security staff, or a certain percentage of passengers are pulled aside continuously as they board the flight. It is estimated to be about 10 percent of passengers, and thus 30 selectees for a three-cabin 777-200 or "1.8" passengers on a Beech 1900.
- The screening may be benign and fast or even more intrusive than the TSA.
Flights operated by non-US carriers to the USA
Some airlines have software that will designate selectees.
- Some airlines ignore the selectee status entirely.
- Some require "additional screening," which might amount to another glance at hand luggage; others can be much more elaborate.
- For Canada-US Transborder flights, the additional screening is conducted at the checkpoint by CATSA, not by the airline or its contractors.
- Some carriers (Air France) have their own procedures for stopping random or non-random passengers on the jetway for frisking and hand luggage inspection.
- British Airways has a random alarm in its boarding pass reader, but this typically just triggers a hand luggage inspection.
#285
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: DCA - PDX - LAX
Programs: AA Gold, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, AS 75k
Posts: 755
seems mostly accurate but what is the source?
Flights within the USA or departing the USA
Flights to the USA operated by US carriers, including Canada to the USA
Flights operated entirely outside of the US but operated by US carriers
Flights operated by non-US carriers to the USA
Some airlines have software that will designate selectees.
- SSSS is not common but it still happens -- especially to last-minute, one-way travellers without frequent flyer accounts, and not paying with a credit card.
- Paid TSA PreCheck membership, NEXUS, Sentri, and Global Entry essentially protect one from SSSS.
- There are exceedingly rare random exceptions for paid TSA PreCheck, NEXUS, Sentri, and Global Entry members
- Depending on the airport and TSA staff, the process can be intrusive and humiliating or swift and passage to the front of the queue.
- SSSS is designated by airline software under the direction of the TSA.
Flights to the USA operated by US carriers, including Canada to the USA
Flights operated entirely outside of the US but operated by US carriers
- A certain percentage of passengers must get SSSS screening regardless of their designated risk status.
- At "Category X" airports, passengers are interviewed (usually twice), and airline or contract security personnel may assign SSSS status.
- Paid TSA PreCheck, NEXUS, Sentri, and Global Entry do not matter. These risk assessment tools should be used, but they are not.
- SSSS status may be printed on a boarding card, written on a list for security staff, or a certain percentage of passengers are pulled aside continuously as they board the flight. It is estimated to be about 10 percent of passengers, and thus 30 selectees for a three-cabin 777-200 or "1.8" passengers on a Beech 1900.
- The screening may be benign and fast or even more intrusive than the TSA.
Flights operated by non-US carriers to the USA
Some airlines have software that will designate selectees.
- Some airlines ignore the selectee status entirely.
- Some require "additional screening," which might amount to another glance at hand luggage; others can be much more elaborate.
- For Canada-US Transborder flights, the additional screening is conducted at the checkpoint by CATSA, not by the airline or its contractors.
- Some carriers (Air France) have their own procedures for stopping random or non-random passengers on the jetway for frisking and hand luggage inspection.
- British Airways has a random alarm in its boarding pass reader, but this typically just triggers a hand luggage inspection.