Airlines + Airports Why You Don’t Ever Want to See These Four Letters on Your Boarding Pass (Video) Here's what that hidden code on your boarding pass really means. By Talia Avakian Talia Avakian Website Talia Avakian is a lifestyle reporter with nearly a decade of experience writing digital and print content for noted national and international travel publications. She began her career in travel reporting at BBC Travel, where she covered news and features of global destinations, later working as a travel reporter at Business Insider and as a digital news reporter for Travel + Leisure. During her time at Travel + Leisure, she has covered airlines, hotels, new product launches for travelers, natural phenomena travelers can witness, new experience launches, and more. Her work has also appeared in The Independent, Time, Food & Wine, Fortune, Essence, and Departures, among others. Talia is currently a freelance lifestyle reporter in Los Angeles, where she covers content ranging from outdoor getaways, hotels, and transportation to food and experiential offerings at destinations across the globe. She has gone behind the scenes with airlines to learn about flight attendant training, scaled remote mountainsides at far-flung hotels, gone inside the inner workers of Air Force jets, shared the history of Frank Sinatra's favorite New York restaurant hideaway, documented what life is like inside the world's largest residential airpark, and more. She loves discovering unknown perks travelers can access and adventures they can take part in no matter where they go, sharing inside looks at offerings from around the world to help every traveler get the best out of each journey. * 9+ years of experience working as a travel reporter * Stories published and syndicated across over 50 national and international publications * Appeared as a travel expert on Cheddar to discuss emerging travel trends * Received a master's degree in multimedia reporting from the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Published on September 20, 2017 Share Tweet Pin Email Navigating through airports can already be a lengthy process, but there’s one code you’ll want to keep an eye out for. If you see the letters SSSS printed on your boarding pass, getting through the airport could become a much lengthier process. The four letters stand for "Secondary Security Screening Selection" and mean that the Transport Security Administration (TSA) has selected you for an enhanced security screening. Along with a full search, passengers in this situation can expect to get screened through portable metal detectors, in addition to potentially receiving a full-body pat-down inspection and having their carry-on baggage opened and examined. Related: Everything You Need to Know About TSA Approved Carry-on Luggage According to a TSA spokesperson, passengers who have the code on their boarding passes are selected through the TSA’s Security Flight System, a prescreening program that identifies both low and high-risk passengers before they get to the airport. This system will match up names against trusted traveler lists and the TSA's watchlist before taking the screening instructions back to the airlines and identifying whether passengers are low-risk and eligible for TSA Pre Check, are on the Selectee List for enhanced screening, or will simply receive the standard screening. While cases like buying a last-minute one-way flight that is pricey or paying for a flight in cash could sometimes land you on this list, according to Skift, the TSA also said the selections can happen at random. When a passenger has an SSSS on their boarding pass, they typically won’t be able to print it out online and will be told they’ll need to go to the airport to do so. If this is the case for you, you’ll want to give yourself at least 30 minutes of additional time to make sure you make your flight. Additionally, if you're interested in getting off of the list, you can apply for a Redress Number. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit