The dreaded SSSS - for a 16 year old?

[Warks]

So at the end of our three week trip through SYD-LAX-SEA-YVR-EWR-MCO-LAX-SYD at LAX on checking in for our flight on VA2 one of us was selected for the dreaded SSSS. Now you'd think it might be me who travels a fair bit or my wife who is at least an adult but no for some reason VA (or whoever does the selection) chose my 16 year old son (only just 16 by a matter of days too) for the full SSSS. We were going through the VA check-in and the clerk suddenly left the desk and ran off around the corner for about five minutes. He came back with my son's boarding pass with the SSSS on both parts and said to make sure we got stamped before we left. At the time I was a bit nonplussed and thought it was a simple mistake but I wasn't going to get anywhere debating it there.

Upstairs we joined the line and when we got to the first TSA guy with the people counter in hand he spotted the mark and said "oh boy - this must be a joke/mistake" (words to that effect) and said the airlines just seem to pick people based on their names sometimes. He said the good thing was we could all bypass the line and go straight to the screening. He called for his supervisor on his two-way and warned them we were coming. He escorted us forward and we went to our own scanning machine. My son got pulled ahead of us while we put our bags through the machine. I got pulled up for something in my bag I'd forgotten (jar of peanut butter as it turned out) and missed what was going on. Next thing we're being told by the TSA people that my son's clothes and shoes have returned a 'trace' and he needs a secondary screening in private. The staff were all reassuring to us so not bullying or mean at all which was good - my son is not a rough, tough type but tends to hide his emotions so it was hard to tell what he was going through. They'd already given him a simple pat down which I hadn't witnessed.

Supervisor told us that SSSS comes up at the behest of the airline and usually people just get screened and go through. However the 'trace' made it more complicated although they still said it was probably nothing. We'd been in a Disney resort for the last 10 days and together the entire time we'd been away so I knew he hadn't done anything at all - not that I ever expected he would have. So I was informed he had to be taken to a private room for a full pat-down and as he was a minor a parent had to be in attendance which was me.

We went off to a room nearby with all his carry on luggage and shoes in a tray. The attending TSA chatted with us about New York and Orlando weather while we waited for the pat-down guy. He turned up and said that the previous pat-down had been "back of the hands" but this would involve the front of the hands and it would be all over. So my son was subjected to a quite intense pat down which involved sliding the hands all over his clothes. There was even a special explanation of the pat down for the groin area which would involve "three swipes across and three swipes down" which was completed. I can't fault the officer's professionalism and courtesy through all this - they were following procedure to the letter.

We then had to wait for another officer higher up the chain to inspect the shoes. This guy came along and took the linings out of the shoes (which were about four days old, purchased at an Orlando outlet store) and pressed everywhere. He gave them the all clear. We were then thanked for our cooperation (as though we had a choice but I guess I could have carried on more, not that it would have helped). They obviously had no idea what it could have been but didn't explain anything.

So then we were on our way, rather shaken. My son took it all rather well although as I said he holds a lot inside. My wife was feeling much worse about it than anyone being very protective. I just took the attitude that as no one had done anything wrong to just go with it and it would all be fine as it proved. However there's probably a few people who've thought that and ended up at Gitmo (extreme example!)

Now my question is who can I talk to at Virgin about this if they decided he needed screening and how can we avoid this happening again? I've heard once you get SSSSed you get it all the time - this could possibly happen with the 'trace' incident. I'd appreciate any feedback.


I knew a guy who'd been in the military and worked in 'signals' some 20 years previously but always got pulled aside for additional screening on leaving Australia as he obviously raised a red flag based on his knowledge that could be valuable to another power, albeit a bit old. He managed to get himself off the list eventually - that was here though and not the US.

Thanks.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Sounds like a rather unpleasant end to your trip and well handled by your self, son and the TSA in the circumstances.
I'm reasonably sure that the TSA always blame the airlines for the selection and I'm not convinced that this is entirely the truth.
I don't think you will get anywhere with VA if you ask them about this.
If it happens again there is a process you can undertake with DHS to check if your son has been erroneously placed on a watch list.

 

[opusman]

only just 16 by a matter of days too

Maybe you could look at it as a rite of passage?

 

[dajop]

Comments notwithstanding about the trace and potential for being placed on a permanent watchlist (which could be a real nuisance), I would have thought that in 2015, unfortunately, 16 yo boys (or girls) have nearly as much potential for creating harmful situations as adults, especially with the current recruitment practices of certain organisations. Therefore it is not surprising that they can be (supposedly) randomly selected for SSSS treatment.

 

[RooFlyer]

Whilst I agree to a certain extent with dajop, this article suggests that minors shouldn't be selected for SSSS, but it can happen.

I'm pretty certain the airline (VA) has nothing to do with the selection - it was just a 'pass the buck' comment by the agents.

I've had SSSS occur two or three times, and regard it as the price of doing 'business', but again, I recognise your issue is the age of your son. I've never looked into it, but your son can apply for a "redress control number" which can mitigate against continued extra screening and other hassles. Might be worth looking into; it goes into future reservations to/from the USA. I had a business friend who got the entire treatment every time they went through security to and from the USA (ie 3-5 times a year) - he finally got a redress number and the issue went away.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Comments notwithstanding about the trace and potential for being placed on a permanent watchlist (which could be a real nuisance), I would have thought that in 2015, unfortunately, 16 yo boys (or girls) have nearly as much potential for creating harmful situations as adults, especially with the current recruitment practices of certain organisations. Therefore it is not surprising that they can be (supposedly) randomly selected for SSSS treatment.

Unfortunately this. People have been known to use babies and strollers to attempt to take through prohibited items. There's no reason to think a 16 year old child couldn't be used for the same.

Security should be the same for all. I was concerned the story was going to develop in to one where your son was separated from the family during the intensive search - that would have been unacceptable. But you were there, and security is just part of air travel. If your son becomes concerned down the track (these things can develop), and doesn't want to talk to the family, is there a school counselor?

Asking the airline how to avoid SSSS? If they told you, I'd be very concerned :shock: I'm not sure there is any need to be overly concerned the notation stays with the passenger. I had it a couple times (albeit many years ago), but after that nothing at all.

 

[bam71]

I also don't believe the SSSS comes from the airline. A couple of years back I arrived in LA en route to Seattle. I was booked on United LAX SEA and got the SSSS on the boarding pass. No big deal, but then the flight got cancelled. I booked a brand new ticket on Alaskan ( wasn't worried about the costs) to get to SEA. Went over to T4 where Alaskan leave from and lo and behold, SSSS on the new boarding pass. I think its the Dept of Homeland Security, not the airline that identifies who gets SSSSS

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I also don't believe the SSSS comes from the airline. A couple of years back I arrived in LA en route to Seattle. I was booked on United LAX SEA and got the SSSS on the boarding pass. No big deal, but then the flight got cancelled. I booked a brand new ticket on Alaskan ( wasn't worried about the costs) to get to SEA. Went over to T4 where Alaskan leave from and lo and behold, SSSS on the new boarding pass. I think its the Dept of Homeland Security, not the airline that identifies who gets SSSSS

There used to be a number of criteria - no idea if they have been modified or expanded... including buying a ticket with cash, buying a last minute ticket, one way tickets: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_Security_Screening_Selection

Another thread on milepoint suggests the TSA provide a list of these criteria to the airlines, who then allocate the SSSS designation - so in part maybe it's true that it is up to the airline (which would also explain why high status travelers may get less SSSSs)

 

[zainman]

Can't SSSS sometimes be a good thing because it means you go to the front of the line and probably ended up being processed quicker?

 

[serfty]

Last year I was travelling on QF93 (MEL-LAX) in First (op upped from Business on check-in).

While in the First lounge there was announcement including the names of three passengers, requesting they go to the service desk; mine was among them.

There I was informed that I had been 'randomly' selected for additional security and it might be an idea to head to the gate a little earlier; otherwise I was told not to worry.

So I went a little early and it involved a search and trace test of my carry-on bags; I was then on my way.

As far as the randomness goes, I had booked MEL-AKL & AKL-xBNE-LAX but due to the very late departure of my MEL-AKL flight (meaning I would miss AKL-BNE, I was re-booked directly MEL-LAX). This may have played a part.

 

[Warks]

My wife has researched this further and found there are reports of 3 year olds and ancient grannies in wheelchairs undergoing SSSS.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

My wife has researched this further and found there are reports of 3 year olds and ancient grannies in wheelchairs undergoing SSSS.

In a way, it's kinda silly... if you were up to something bad, indicating the SSSS on the boarding pass you could swap the prohibited items to another person (or decide to cancel your trip).

In the broader scheme of things it makes sense not to exclude any individual passenger.

Is your son experiencing some negative effects over the incident?

There are a lot of websites out there (including FT) that are happy to crucify the TSA at every opportunity. Most of that is entirely unwarranted and reading those sites can lead to an unfair assessment of the situation.

 

[Warks]

I don't think he's that worried about it. Probably a good experience to scare him out of ever doing anything wrong and ending up in that sort of situation with the police!

As I said the behaviour of the TSA people was exemplary - they did it by the book but weren't acting like they were running Guantanamo Bay.

 

[Mark3000]

We had a trace of something detected on our last trip out of BNE and it turned out to be baca use I had polished my shoes that morning. The guy said show polish can give false positives for explosives

 

[Warks]

We thought it might have been traces of gunpowder from all the endless fireworks displays at the various Disney parks at any time of the day or night. Pretty good chance of that you'd think. We were there on the 4th of July and from our resort we could see fireworks at three parks plus the city of Orlando. Normal fireworks are only a few minutes but these were over 15 minutes.

 

[UP4014]

I think not worth raising with anyone, want to draw attention and have SSSS for the rest of his life.

What would you complain about, being selected for a security check. I don't think that will cut it with the airline or TSA.

This sort of check could be expanded to more people over time as it is, something we have to accept unless you want to join a political party, run for pre selection, get elected, become a minister and fight to have the law changed for Australian citizens visiting the US. Nope, just be annoyed, tough it out and look forward to the next trip.

Matt

 

[Warks]

I think it was one of the TSA guys who said we should talk to the airline but yeah he won't be going anywhere soon anyway so we can hope it's all history by then.