Anonymous wrote:OP here. Yes it was the ticketing agent, airline employee who printed our boarding passes and took our checked bag. I know the passport/customs folks do ask a standard where have you been and why question.
When we were standing in line to get to her, we noticed that individuals and families holding non-US passports in hand were questioned by another employee. He was skipping the US passport holders.

This happened to me at Heathrow when I returned from England last November. They noted that is was a new process. My impression in mid-November was that they had only been doing it for a few days.

Yes, these questions are asked by ticketing agents abroad - Geneva, Zurich, Heathrow, all airports.

Anyone who says this is "weird" does not travel internationally.

So I ticketing agent in Europe asked you about your visit? And your work? Person is curious? It is called making conversation? Determining if you've been on a farm as US customs asked, so hence this is pre screening. Also, it is a common policy to have different lines for EU passport holders and non EU passport holders, I've never seen a line for US citizens. I recommend you stay home from now on.

Your first post was confusing. This wasn't in the US. It sounds like everyone was being questioned. You made it sound like US citizens were being singled out somehow or that the US government was asking new, additional questions.

White female coming home from the Middle East alone several times around 2009-2011 I usually got pulled into the little room. Layovers in Germany usually got me secondary questioning as well.

OP here. Yes it was the ticketing agent, airline employee who printed our boarding passes and took our checked bag. I know the passport/customs folks do ask a standard where have you been and why question.
When we were standing in line to get to her, we noticed that individuals and families holding non-US passports in hand were questioned by another employee. He was skipping the US passport holders.

Was this in Europe or in the US? I just came back from Portugal, and their TSA equivalent asked us lots of questions after we checked in and while we waiting to drop our bags. They were friendly but clearly asking if we were really tourists: where did you visit? What was your favorite thing in___ city? Who did you travel with?

In Amsterdam I get these at the ticket counter every time - in fact they sometimes refer me to a secondary person to ask more questions ...

Anonymous wrote:I'm a white female in my late 20s and am routinely asked these questions when returning from Latin America. Only went to Europe once and I can't remember what I was asked, but that's pretty standard.

By whom? Passport control/Customs, yes.

Still trying to understand what role a ticketing agent would play in re-entry to the country. OP?

I'm a white female in my late 20s and am routinely asked these questions when returning from Latin America. Only went to Europe once and I can't remember what I was asked, but that's pretty standard.

Anonymous wrote:Ticketing agent? Weird.

Customs Officer: very normal

my thought too. What does a ticketing agent have to do with returning to the country? Who did this person work for?

Ticketing agent? Weird.

Customs Officer: very normal

Not new, but depends on the circumstances of the trip. Sometimes they also just ask random questions to get a feel for what an unplanned answer souns like.

I traveled internationally as a teen back in the mid 80s. We were asked these type of questions when returning from Europe - London, Paris, etc.

We were returning from a tourist trip from a European country - two parents and two elementary kids. We are US citizens, and were asked the reasons for our trip, where have we been and also what do we do for work by the ticketing agent. We checked in online by then already. We travel out of the country every year and DH travels international sometimes for work.

Neither of us remembers being asked anything when returning home before. They were not any intrusive or probing questions and it wasn't any info we wouldn't give a fellow traveler when chatting with one. No complaints just wondering if this is a new practice.