Most travellers know the feeling of rushing through an airport, desperately hoping nothing slows them down before they finally collapse into their seat on the plane.
But what many don’t realise is that one tiny code printed on your boarding pass could turn a routine flight into a stressful ordeal; and in extreme cases, it might even stop you from boarding altogether. And now, even frequent flyers are having this little known boarding pass code to their attention.
That mysterious code is SSSS, which stands for ‘Secondary Security Screening Selection’. While it might look harmless, those four letters are dreaded by regular flyers. If you’ve got them stamped on your ticket, it means you’ve been chosen for extra security checks by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) when flying to or from the United States.
As Simple Flying explains, the SSSS designation usually adds an extra 15 to 20 minutes to the security process, though for many it can feel far longer.
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Travellers can expect their bags to be pulled apart, their belongings swabbed, and even their electronics switched on to prove they work. It doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong, but it does mean airport staff will be taking a much closer look at you.
The TSA isn’t exactly forthcoming about how it decides who gets selected. Factors are thought to include last-minute one-way bookings, unusual travel routes, or flights from countries considered high-risk.
For some passengers though, it seems entirely random. One TikTok user recalled in the caption of the video above how their partner had to separate everything from their bags while officers swabbed “absolutely everything” and even checked that his laptop would power up.
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When UNILAD reported on the SSSS codes previously, others have shared even more unsettling experiences. One person said: “This happened to me the last time I flew out to see my best friend, the TSA scanned my phone and made a copy of all my texts, app messages, pictures etc.
“The whole thing was weird and violating, but I guess the TSA can enjoy all the close up shots of weird pimples I can’t regularly see lol.”
Another traveller added: “I was flagged all the time because I used to fly solo before I turned 18.”
What makes it especially frustrating is that it’s not just about delays. If the extra checks take too long or cause you to miss a boarding window, there’s a chance you could actually be stopped from flying. And unlike choosing a bad seat or boarding later because of your sequence number, you don’t get a say in whether SSSS appears on your boarding pass.
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As HuffPost points out, other details on your ticket — like the SEQ number that shows your check-in order, or the boarding group that decides when you can get on the plane — might affect your seat or when you line up, but they won’t put your whole trip at risk. The SSSS code is a different story altogether.
So, if you ever spot those four letters staring back at you, the best advice is to get to the airport early and brace yourself. It could mean the difference between a smooth flight, and one you never make.
Ben Williams