As we all make our way home for the holidays - and even begin to plan our trips abroad for the new year - one travel expert has revealed the four letters you never want to spot on your flight’s boarding pass.
Yup, if you spot the dreaded letters SSSS on your pass there’s a chance you’ll face delays at the airport.
Seeing the code SSSS means you’ve been selected for additional screening when passing through security.
Damien The Travel Tips Guy, who boasts almost 85k followers on TikTok explains in a video that SSSS stands for ‘Secondary Security Screening Selection’.
“It’s a little mysterious as to what triggers SSSS, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) is vague about that,” he says.
“They do however, have a system of identifying red flags that require extra screening.”
These red flags, Damien explains, can include:
- Travelling on a one-way ticket
- You purchased your ticket within 24 hours of your flight
- You paid for your ticket in cash
According to Damien, the amount of extra screening can vary from having a metal detector used on you to having your bags checked more thoroughly.
The majority of passengers with the SSSS on their boarding passes are picked at random.
For most people this is a one-time thing, but if it happens to you regularly, there are ways to protest this happening to you, the travel expert explains, by requesting a review from the Department of Homeland Security.
