Bolding mine.
Seems like I heard a story on the radio a while back about how it is apparently not too difficult to find yourself on the “shit-list” (same name as someone else they’re looking for, etc.) but it can be an almost Kafka-esque nightmare to get yourself off the list, because control of it is so decentralized. I’d be curious to hear whether anyone has had any success or not getting off the list once they mistakenly got put on it, and what kind of hoops you had to jump through to do it.
It happened to me when I got to the airport and realized I left all my ID on my dresser at home, I had to talk my way into getting my boarding pass from the airline, then while being searched a utility knife I’d forgotten about in my jacket pocket cam to light. All in all almost every mistike I could have made I did. The TSA were very nice abouty it and I made my flight.
The most embarrassing thing about the whole ordeal is that I am a travel agent!
The act of trying to be removed from the list is probable cause to put you on the list.
That’s pretty much what the TSA guy told me yesterday. I had been in charlotte last week for some minor business, which I finished with by Friday. By sunday I and my rental car were in the Atlanta area.
My flight home was for monday out of Charlotte to Milwaukee. I didn’t feel like driving back to Charlotte, and I didn’t feel like spending the night in Atlanta. So I dumped the rental at the airport and cashed my monday Charlotte to Milwaukee ticket in for an Atlanta to Milwaukee ticket for right then & there. Apparently being foot loose & fancy free for a weekend raises red flags because before my ticket exchange transaction was even halfway finished the airline rep was warning me that I’d be selected for extra screening. When the TSA guy was running his silly little wand over me we talked about why I got immediately flagged. He told me almost everyone who purchases their ticket within 48 hours gets it. How long will it take the terrorist to figure that out?
I got the treatment at SFO, too, for the same reason. It didn’t occur to me that my state ID was expired until I was already in line, otherwise I would have brought my passport along for ID. It wasn’t a problem at the other end of my trip, though.
As LSLGuy apparently has not come back yet, I’ll try to tackle this one. As seen in this thread, only some ‘SSSS’ designations are randomized; many, if not most, are triggered by specific conditions which, I would guess in nearly all cases, have nothing whatsoever to do with criminal behavior: buying tickets on short notice or as one-way fares, or, as may have been the case for me, simply because the passenger ‘looks nervous’, whatever that may mean. I submit that most people whose flight has been delayed or cancelled, are forced to wait for several hours to obtain clear information about this fact, then are not offered accomodation according to airline’s own Contract of Carriage, may appear to be somewhat ‘nervous’.
I have to admit, though, it escapes as to how randomized searches could possibly square with the Consitutional prohibition against unreasonable search. Seems like it would be all the more a violation if it is totally random, because it means that people are being pulled aside for search and potential seizure of their goods for no reason at all other than that their names were pulled out of a computerized hat of air travelers. If someone has a good explanation for how this is consitutionally acceptable, I’ll be happy to listen.
DUDE!
I’m almost ashamed to find myself in the same profession (and, oddly, the same CITY!) as you!
P.S. BMalion… seriously, email me sometime. We’re in the same biz in the same city, ya know. And, as a dying breed, we oughta start start networking! grizzrich@yahoo.com
We were flying back from bermuda, having made reservations on orbitz and changed airlines in Fort Lauderday. We thougth we were booked through, but it turned out we had to get a brand new last minute ticket, since UA air and Air Tran have not agreements. Because of this we were SSSS’d. Problem was that by then we had like 10 minutes to get on board. someone told me that they won’t take off if there is luggage which was checked but then the passenger doesn’t board. Is this correct, or did we almost miss our flight. I assume that if we had missed it, any and all expenses would have fallen on me.
That’s weird! I’m a frequent business traveler, but also active duty in the Air Force. I got the SSSS treatment once, showed my military ID when I got to the table, and the guy said “huh. That’s not right. You shouldn’t have been pulled for this. I figure you guys (my traveling partners, also active duty) are almost as good for us as having air marshalls. I’ve got to check your bag, but I’m going to see if I can flag you as ‘don’t search’ in the system – maybe save you some hassle next time.”
I have no idea what he did, and maybe I just got the random zap, but I haven’t been SSSS’ed since.
I have to believe that with your boarding pass, the airline can track exactly who put the SSSS on your pass.
You may be correct. Wednesday I sent a letter to Continental’s Customer care department, along with a photocopy of the boarding passes. We’ll see if anything comes of it.
And that’s weird because I get searched every time I fly commercial, no matter what ID I show, whether I’m on orders or not, or whether I’m in uniform or not. You know how hard it is to get dress blues together? Well, they made me remove my ribbons, wings, belt, and shoes coming home from Tech School.
Methinks there is a serious disconnect here, sir.
You serious? Any of the thousands of TSA agents can put you on a don’t search list? Given the apparent laxness in hiring standards for TSA, whats to stop Terroist A applying for a TSA position and then putting Terrorist B on a Do Not Search?
Okay, my first post. Hope this works. I work at IND at one of the screening checkpoints. I don’t work for TSA, but I do work pretty closely with them. I know most of their SOP by now. I don’t know if he was just trying to impress Jurph or what, but any TSA employee who is doing screening has no connection to the “search” list. That is well above them. As was said earlier, it’s a pain to get your name off, I can’t see knowing a screener as being of any help. Also, there is no “don’t search” list, unless you’re an armed government offical executing your duties. Not that I don’t doubt Jurph’s story, some TSA just like to talk.
Airman Doors, you have my sympathy on the uniform. They are definately not “airport friendly.” TSA use to exempt military on active duty from extra screening, but they stopped that about a year ago. You use to just have to show them your orders, but I couldn’t tell you why they ended that.
If you get your flight canceled/delayed and they rebook you on another airline, you automatically get the fancy SSSS on your ticket. The computer thinks you just bought it. The ticket agent can deselect you as long as you weren’t special on your original flight, but many don’t bother. They have to go through several minutes of “are you sure” screens on their computers and most don’t feel it’s worth their time.