Guns – and goofy stuff – at airport checkpoints

Disassemble a .22 caliber firearm was discovered at Daytona Beach (DAB).

My At the Airport column on USA TODAY this month takes a look at the TSA’s 2015 Year in Review, which reveals some alarming statistics about the number of guns, knives and potentially explosive things that passengers try to bring onto airplanes.

The rundown:

In 2015 TSA found a record 2,653 firearms in carry-on bags at airport checkpoints.

That was an increase of 20% over the number of firearms found in 2014.

2,198 of the firearms (82.8%) found at checkpoints in 2015 were loaded, many with a round in the chamber.

Some of the ammunition TSA found in carry-on bags during 2015

The most guns – 153 – were found at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

The Top 10 list continues with:

ATL: 144
IAH: 100
DEN: 90
Phoenix Sky Harbor: 73
Nashville International and Seattle-Tacoma International: 59 each
Dallas Love Field: 57
Austin-Bergstrom International: 54
Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport:52

TSA tallies of firearms found at airport checkpoints in 2015

See more photos – including the bear mace, sword canes and the meat slicer someone tried to take onto an airplane – in my January 2016 At the Airport column on USA TODAY.

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One thought on “Guns – and goofy stuff – at airport checkpoints

  1. Brian Cummings says:

    Forgot a gun? Should people with such poor weapons awareness and management be allowed to have a gun? Take their guns away. They are either liars or idiots.

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