bayrider Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Anyone flying sometime soon? heres a cool little tip about being randomly searched at the airport. I was told by someone that when you get your boarding pass at the airport, the computer that prints out the boarding passes randomly insert a code on your pass which means you will be searched. it is 4 S's (SSSS). i didnt beleive it at first but when i came home and looked at my boarding passes i realized he was right. i flew from LA to Chicago to Mtl. I got searched in Chicago.. in the picture the blue ticket is from chicago where i got searched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroChaos Veteran Posted January 12, 2004 Veteran Share Posted January 12, 2004 interesting, i'll keep that in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlishFun Veteran Posted January 12, 2004 Veteran Share Posted January 12, 2004 Amazingly that's true, I knew someone who used to travel and after 9/11/01 he noticed he'd be searched if the ticket had that. (Y) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Yea, very interesting - Anyone else got more to back this up ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolme Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Here's a better picture of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**marisa** Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 hmm... that is interesting. *ponders* :huh: just US tho i bet... different system for Europe etc. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 What exactly do they search ? Just your bags or a personal strip search ? Switch your SSSS tags with an old lady, just for jolly :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xp1ode Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 I remembered i got this orange paper when i was coming back from Florida about 4 weeks ago. They told me it was because i had a one way ticket, my ticket didnt have those s's tho, only a big orange paper looked like oversized ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zivan56 Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 I've never been searched anywhere in europe. When you leave Canada though they search everybody. A good thing to bring with you would be some white out if you get the SSSS though :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autodefe Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Yeah, it's true. I used to work at the airport. These are the people who get searched right before boarding on the plane. Most of it's completely random, and, depending on the checkpoint security company, additional passenger searching might be administered. It's no secret, though most people don't know about it ;) Btw, that's how United and its subsidiaries do it (the four S's). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sciguy007 Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 so why is it four S's instead of one or two or three? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleepy Jesus Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 I'll strip even if they don't ask me to... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autodefe Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 so why is it four S's instead of one or two or three? Hum, good question. Why is the sky blue? :ninja: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerroger Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Hum, good question. Why is the sky blue? :ninja: Well if you really want to know why the sky is blue... it has to do with the angle of sunlight and the particles in the atmosphere (super simplified version) LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poind Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Suppose these 4 S's may indeed be an indication of a required search in some places (frankly, if so, it's a bit of a stupid security thing likely to be discovered, as may have occurred here). Depending on various airports, flights, etc., there can certainly also be other random searches that do not make themselves apparent via printing on one's ticket, and the S's may or may not be the indication of why one is chosen for search. Personally, I've been selected for search several times at various airports, and have not noticed the S's (or any other "warning") on my own boarding passes or anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 :o Search Suitcases Sleeves Shorts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolme Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 I think the amount of "s" relates to the suspicion level of you. (I have no idea how they calculate that though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 I just got home from Atlanta - god its nice to be home! :) Atlanta is HECTIC! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattmatik Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Weird. When I was flying home from Hawaii last year after Spring semester, they just did random searches without even looking at your ticket. For example, there was a family of 5 ahead of me, and as we stood in line, they just walked by us and told us which line to get into. There were two lines, one going to the search area, the other going straight to the boarding tunnel. 2 people of the family and myself got picked. They didn't check my ticket until I was already searched (it was a simple shoes, carry-on, 2 questions search). When I went to Vegas last November, it was the same way, only fewer people were searched. My step-mom had the whole shebang (shoes, suitcase, questions, carry-on) and her ticket wasn't any different. Maybe it's specific airlines? Interesting, nontheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfessorX Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 (edited) should have known this earlier this day my mom and some relatives just left for pakistan from dc they have to go to J.F.K first. and just moments ago i received a call that my cousin her mom and my mom are being investigated cuz the system showed a difference in my cousins name that from her passport its like a letter diff. i just hope everything goes well and security ppl dont make a big deal out of it. and on top of that their flight was delayed. imagine the wait time and 16+ hrs of fly time. EDIT just got the news they are were alright and are onboard. Edited January 19, 2004 by ProfessorX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WigglesTheFish Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 every time i have went anywhere by plane i have been searched... i hate it, i'd rather drive anyways... scared of planes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fukachu Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 aussies dont get searched much, i know a guy who hasnt been searched in 30 years of travelling and he travels a lot. good old aussie passport :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatnipOligarchy Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 I just got home from Atlanta - god its nice to be home! :) Atlanta is HECTIC! actually a very nice airport though for one so large. im always impressed at how smoothly everything flows in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey1001 Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 I had my bags searched after leaving Las Vegas one time. We had gone to this shooting range on Flamingo Blvd. to rent some automatic weapons (you can do that in Nevada) and as a souvenir I kept the paper target to show how good my shots were. Anyway, they were in my carry on and the security picked up "gunpowder". That raised flags and I was detained for about ten minutes until they figured it out. That was pre 9/11; I don't want to think of their reaction post 9/11! Other than that, my problems have been with customs more than just airport security. I got taken into a secure room once that had a camera and a table because the officer found bus tickets in my wallet. They're one square inch in size used to travel on the transit system in my city. I had to take off everything except my underwear and had all my belongings looked through, from my wallet to my bags. I was more scared than embarassed at the time because I used to smoke a lot (not tobacco) and started worrying if maybe I forgot some of it in my bags or something like that. As a Canadian we tend to get this scary view of customs guys and their war on drugs, and I had this vision of me getting ten years in a maximum security prison for bringing a joint across the border. As it turned out, the reason they freaked out about the bus tickets is that they believed that I was trafficking in LSD. Once they had made record of all my ID and stuff they said I could proceed if I left my tickets behind with them. Hmm, come to think about it, the U.S. customs guys still owe me ten bucks for my bus fares!! :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayrider Posted January 19, 2004 Author Share Posted January 19, 2004 LOL are u from montreal? our metro and bus tickets look sorta like a big square of LSD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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