Travelling to your next destination by plane may be the quickest way to get from point A to point B, but there’s no denying there are many, many things that air travel leaves to be desired.
Like having to get to the airport hours before boarding, struggling with baggage size and weight limits and attempting to battle the near unstoppable desire to buy a new novel and three magazines before each and every flight.
But all those things pale in comparison to the four letters that can make your next trip to the airport an absolute nightmare.
Travellers who see the letters ‘SSSS’ on their boarding passes face extra security and screening measures before they are able to board a flight.
The code stands for 'Secondary Security Screening Selection' and means a passenger faces additional screening by security which could take an extra half hour.
The term only appears on the passes of those travelling to the United States, but with the US among the top destinations for Aussie travellers, the code is one many holidayers have faced.
LISTEN: Mamamia Out Loud's Jessie Stephens believes this is officially the best money you will ever spend in an airport.
According to The Sun, the code was introduced to reduce the risk of terror attacks and involves Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents subjecting passengers to extra pat downs, swabs and bag searches.
Passengers may also be asked to prove their identity and give officers a detailed run-down of their travel plans and itinerary.
The TSA has said that people are added to the list after being 'randomly selected' by a computer, but some passengers say they are branded with the SSSS code each and every time they travel.
The list is kept secret by the TSA and there is no way to check if you are on it, but buying tickets with cash or regularly buying one-way tickets could flag you as a potential security threat.
Passengers who have travelled to certain countries, like Turkey, may also face the prospect of SSSS showing up on their next boarding pass.
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Top Comments
I'm not flying to the US until they stop this paranoia where Aussies are concerned. I'm thinking after the Trump presidency. I was put off by the innocent Aussie girl being thrown in a regular jail with criminals and shipped home without even being able to touch her boyfriend. Callous and cruel. Even the criminals in the jail felt sorry for her.
But these measures existed before the election! 99.9% of passengers experience a normal screening process.
I worked for a Dutch CEO who would regularly travel the world. He was always being flagged for secondary screening because his PA booked and paid for his tickets (not him), multiple short term entry and exits, single traveller and from The Netherlands (pills) so he was always triggering the drug smuggler algorithm.
The Detroit shoe bomber was detained en route in Amsterdam for buying a one way ticket, no luggage and most of all, the security officer at checkin wondered why he was flying to Detroit at Christmas without a jacket. They let him go after 48 hours by which time he has sweated so much the fuse in his shoes had become soaked, allowing other passengers to rush him as he kept trying to light them.
As a flyer, if someone had spent a year in Afghanistan and is acting a little flakey I'm more than happy for security to ask a few more questions before boarding, aren't you?