These 4 letters may have frequent flyers yelling four-letter words.
Deemed “the kiss of death” by jet-setters online, the “SSSS” stamp on a boarding pass is a sure-fire sign that a tripper’s flight plans might be severely delayed.
“It stands for ‘secondary security screening selection,’” Zach Griff, a senior aviation author for virtual travel hub The Point Guys, based in Latest York, told Fox News. “It’s a measure implemented by security authorities within the US to screen certain passengers with additional checks.”
And while most sightseers would agree that skyway safety is essential, many hate the trouble of being held up by TSA.
It’s an aggravating, yet essential evil of air traveling.
Advancements in artificial intelligence have recently promised to make preflight scans as easy as ordering grub at a fast-food kiosk. Nevertheless, most people on the go still find themselves contending with long lines, baggage scans and intrusive searches at airport security checkpoints.
A couple of voluptuous vacationers even claim they’ve been wrongfully flagged by TSA technologies which have mistaken their huge hind parts for potentially dangerous cargo.
But for globetrotters with the dreaded “SSSS” on their tickets, there’s no blaming faulty robotics.
“Selectees for this enhanced security are chosen in the times leading as much as a flight when airlines share the manifest with U.S. security authorities,” said Griff. “SSSS will also be entirely random, and there’s no option to know when booking your flight whether you’ll be chosen as SSSS.”
Travel influencers who’ve been hit with the annoying imprint say it’s like being locked in a “death trap.”
“If you happen to ever get [SSSS] be prepared to be patted down 4 times over, harassed, made fun of in public and all the pieces that comes with it,” warned a content creator, who was traveling between Canada and the US when his boarding pass was branded with the letters.
“Those extra inspection can take as much as [30 minutes] more,” continued the avid adventurer, “so, obviously, that wouldn’t be nice.”
“Those 4 S’s are usually not your friend.”
Grumbles from disgruntled tourists notwithstanding, TSA representatives insist that a SSSS mark isn’t a curse. The airway watchmen claim, as an alternative, that it’s a security must.
“Security measures begin long before passengers arrive on the airport,” a spokesperson told Fox. “TSA works closely with the intelligence and law enforcement communities to share information.”
“Additional security measures are in place from the time passengers get to the airport until they arrive at their destination,” said the insider, adding that no traveler is capable of bypass the SSSS search.
“In some cases, passengers are randomly chosen for enhanced screening.”
