SSSS: the four letters you don't want to see on your boarding pass

2023-04-06T08:33:48.122Z

This air code means that the passenger will be subjected to a meticulous security control on direct flights to the United States, both upon departure and arrival.

sssss.

Four S's together and capitalized.

Infrequent travelers may be surprised to see those letters, which stands for

Secondary Security Screening Selection

, on their boarding pass.

That code is the way for the US security authority (the Transportation Security Administration or TSA) to carry out a more exhaustive control of a passenger, an additional security measure after the 9/11 attacks.

This check can range from removing your clothing to undergoing a full body search.

All this even after meeting the necessary requirements to travel to the US, such as having the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) authorization from the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).

There are a lot of different reasons why a traveler might end up with an SSSS on their card.

Although the TSA insists that those who receive this code are randomly selected, many report having been subjected to this control several times.

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Purchasing one-way tickets, paying in cash, visiting or laying over in a country deemed “high risk” by the State Department, or frequent travel to unusual destinations can land passengers on the TSA secret list and subsequent screening. SSSS, increasingly exhaustive, according to the Lifehacker website.

Having a name similar to that of one of the people marked by the TSA can also mean entry into this

blacklist

Second international trip in a row where I have the dreaded SSSS on my boarding pass.

I feel like they're picking on me.

pic.twitter.com/PmNd4YiDGk

— Kelly Vaughn (@kvlly) February 23, 2020

Also in Spain

At first, the controls were only carried out on flights arriving in the United States.

But on July 19, 2017, new rules came into force whereby the TSA requires airlines to check additional gates for all direct flights to the US (in Spain, from Terminal 4 of Madrid-Barajas , from Barcelona-El Prat and from Malaga-Costa del Sol airport), which can delay boarding times.

According to the State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), the inspections are carried out by security companies accredited by the Ministry of the Interior who have contracted the airlines, and always under the supervision of the Civil Guard.

Passengers queue at a TSA security checkpoint.vm (Getty Images)

“Most of the numbers and letters that appear on boarding passes only include additional information about the passenger: if you are traveling with a baby, if you have a frequent flyer card, if you require a child meal, if you are traveling with a wheelchair, if You have a pet in the hold, if you are a resident, if you are a minor traveling alone…”, says Virginia Marcos (fictitious name, as she prefers to remain anonymous), one of the people who works at the Iberia counters in Barajas T4 .

“The SSSS code only appears from time to time on flights to the US and, in principle, randomly.

Only when someone behaves strangely or instills some kind of suspicion do we notify the supervisor, who decides if he requires an extra security check before boarding”, he explains.

“Usually it is a brief interrogation, questions such as why you are traveling to the United States, if you have left your suitcase unattended at any time, if you have any powdered product in your hand luggage… It is something that can also include a rapid scanning of baggage and passenger explosives at the boarding gate.

Except for the unforeseen, all this takes only a few minutes ”, he details.

Passengers rushing to the gate of their flight.Brian Stablyk (Getty Images)

other secret codes

On the boarding pass, in addition to the seat, boarding gate, passenger name, flight number and airline, there are other codes, such as the locator (a combination of five or six digits and letters known as a reservation number). or passenger name record) or the SSR code (Special Service Requirement), for children traveling unaccompanied, people with mobility problems, special diets... Within this category, there are others that are even more complicated: SRVGML, for example, means vegan meal request;

while SRWCHC involves a wheelchair request.

The S/O code applies to

stopovers

, that is, to those who make stopovers of more than 24 hours in the middle of a long-distance flight, something that allows you to visit two destinations on the same trip, taking advantage of the large hubs

the airports that companies use as bases of operations on their intercontinental routes.

Some airlines have specialized in this type of connection with offers that include, without the need for a visa, free stays or significant discounts, transfers and even a program of à la carte excursions.

Among these codes there are also individual letters that indicate the class in which the flight is being flown and the discount applied to the fare (Y, H, M and B, for example, indicate that they are economy class tickets; while J, I, C and D correspond to the

business

class ).

These codes, in any case, have not disappeared with the gradual replacement of physical tickets: in the mobile boarding pass all this information is included through a 2D code (QR type) that allows a more agile identification and, in addition, reduces the use of paper.

Other terms used by airlines and their crews

Circle Trip
.
Return ticket with different rates for each journey, or with one or more intermediate stopovers (
stopover
).
Codeshare
or shared code.
Agreement signed by two airlines, generally from the same alliance, to jointly operate a certain route.
Combinability
.
The art of juggling different airfares to see more sites for less.
CPA
(City Pair Availability).
Availability of flights between two cities.
Direct flight
.
The direct flight is the one that goes from airport A to airport B with the same flight code and without changing planes.
It may have one or more stops.
Not to be confused with nonstop
flight
, travel between two airports without intermediate stops.
Excursion.
A type of reduced fare that applies to scheduled return flights, with a minimum and maximum number of days between the departure date and the return date, usually between one week and six months.
Midweek
.
Special rate for flights during the week.
No Frills
(flights without decorations).
Those in which costs are reduced at the expense of eliminating services.
Open Jaws
.
Flights with different arrival and return airports, in which part of the journey is made by land or by sea or by another flight with a different reservation.
The formula allows you to enjoy prices similar to those of closed round-trip tickets, and to travel between two very distant points without worrying about returning to the arrival airport.
Open Return
.
Flight that leaves the return date open.
In general, it requires confirming the return flight (if you wait until the last minute you may be left on the waiting list).
Overbooked
.
A legal practice, but one that annoys a lot.
According to the regulations of the Transport Commission of the European Union, the company has the obligation to refund your ticket or give you an alternative flight in satisfactory conditions, in addition to paying compensation.
Pex and Apex
(Advance Purchase Excursion).
Reduced fare modality that requires buying the ticket in advance, with no possibility of change or refund.
PTA (Prepaid Ticket Advice)
.
When the person who buys the ticket is someone other than the passenger.
An increasingly less common option, since the electronic ticket was introduced.
Rerouting
.
Any voluntary change in the route, date, time, class or destination of a flight.
It usually carries some type of penalty, especially in the cheapest rates.
Saturday rule and Sunday rule
.
Rates that require spending the night of Saturday or Sunday at the destination;
Thus, it is intended to avoid the use of this reduced rate on business trips, limiting it to tourist uses.
Standby
.
A formula that allows travelers with a ticket to wait for a seat to become free in the minutes before boarding another flight on the same route.
TCP
.
Crew cabin.
Transfer
or transit.
Connection between two flights, generally within the same terminal and without the need to collect luggage.
Upgrade,
a rate improvement.