TSA

TSA’s Cutest Canine Contest

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Move over airport therapy dogs. For just a moment.

It’s time to give some love to some of the more than 1000 dogs that work for the Transportation Security Administration sniffing out explosives and the components for explosives in airports around the country.

For several years now, TSA has been hosting an annual Cutest Canine Contest, inviting the public to weigh in on their favorites.

Ebbers, an explosive detection canine working at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) won the contest last year. And now it’s time to pick the cutest K9 for 2023.

This year’s contest is underway, with four finalists in the running:

Zita, a German Shorthair pointer who, like Ebbers, hails from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP);

Dina, a German Shorthaired Pointer who works at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas (LAS);

Zeta, (not to be confused with MSP’s Zita) a German Shepherd from Tampa International Airport (TPA);

and Joker-Jordan a Belgian Malinois assigned to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).

Voting is taking place on TSA’s various social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and on Facebook.

Cast your vote(s) by Thursday, Aug. 24th at 1 pm (ET). The top dog will be announced on Monday, August 28th.

Why do people bring guns to the airport?

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TSA shares half-year tally of firearms found at airport checkpoints

Travelers are returning to airports and airplanes in record numbers.

And for some reason, many of those travelers are packing guns in their carry-on bags.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reports that its officers found 3,251 firearms at airport security checkpoints during the first half of 2023, which ended June 30.

The total represents an average of 18 firearms per day, of which more than 92% were loaded.

This is an increase from the first half of 2022 when Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) found 3,053 firearms at security checkpoints. 86% of those firearms were loaded.

In the first five days of July, TSA officers found an additional 90 firearms at airport checkpoints, bringing the total for 2023 through July 5 to 3,341.

In 2022, a record 6,542 firearms were found at airport checkpoints. So it looks like we’re on the path of breaking that record – again – in 2023.

What happens if you are caught with a firearm in a carry-on bag?

If a TSA officer finds a firearm in a carry-on bag, they’ll contact local law enforcement to check the contents of the carry-on bag, safely unload and take possession of the firearm and process the passenger in accordance with local laws on firearms. 

TSA will impose a civil penalty of up to $14,950, cancel the traveler’s TSA PreCheck eligibility for five years, and probably put them on an enhanced screening list.

Depending on local laws regarding firearms, the passenger may also be arrested or cited.

TSA finds lots more guns & so many sharp things

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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) not only stops travelers from bringing dangerous and prohibited items onto airplanes, but it also tallies the finds.

And the agency shares information about some of the more unusual items that show up at the security checkpoints on social media.

For some reason, many travelers pack guns in their carry-on bags. And the number keeps going up.

In the first quarter of 2023, TSA officers found 1,508 guns at checkpoints. That’s 10.3% more than the same period in 2022.

Fake guns and ammunition – even replica versions can’t fly either

Stop it with all those sharp things

It’s not just guns. Check out these sharp objects travelers tried to bring on airplanes, and TSA’s cutting remarks about them.

 

Unclaimed Money at Airports. Who Gets It?

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This week (August 16 – 23) is National Coin Week. And it is a good time to remind travelers to keep track of all their loose change at the airport security checkpoints.

Passengers going through airport checkpoints are told to put all their carry-on items on the belt going through the x-ray machine and to empty their pockets as well.

You’ve seen it. And perhaps you do it. But many passengers dump the contents of their pockets directly into a plastic bin. And in the rush to reassemble their belongings and move along, a lot of people leave loose change – and cash – in the bins.

The money left behind adds up.

In a report filed by the Department of Homeland Security for Fiscal Year 2020 (the most recent report we can find), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) collected $517,978.74 in unclaimed money from airports around the county.

More than $19,000 of the funds was in foreign currency. And more than $37,000 of the funds were collected at airport checkpoints in Las Vegas.

TSA is allowed to keep the unclaimed funds left behind at checkpoints. And the agency can spend it as it wishes “to provide civil aviation security.” In FY 2020, for example, most of the funds TSA had in the kitty were used to purchase “masks, gloves, plexiglass shields, and other protection measures for travelers and TSA’s frontline workers,” according to the report.

Don’t Want TSA To Get Your Loose Change?

We expect a new report to be issued shortly on how much cash and currency travelers have been leaving behind at airport checkpoints. And we won’t be surprised if the numbers tick up because so many travelers are still working on relearning their travel skills.

But it’s pretty easy to avoid adding your cash to the TSA coffers.

Before you leave home, empty the loose change from your pockets into a small bag, or even an envelope, that you can slip into one of the larger bags you’ll be sending the x-ray machine. Or put that change into a zippered pocket in your coat or carry-on before you get to the checkpoint. Do the same with your wallet, so you decrease the chance of leaving way more than loose change behind, and you won’t tempt someone else to steal it.

Nominations for TSA’s Top Ten Catches of 2023

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It’s been just a few weeks since the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) released its Top Ten Finds of 2022. And we already have news of some items found at airport checkpoints that might appear in the 2023 reel.

Snakes on a Plane. Almost

The Game of the Sociable Snake, c. 1890

This didn’t show up in TSA’s Top Ten Catches of 2022. But it should have.

A woman flying out of Tampa International Airport (TPA) had a boa constrictor in her carry-on bag.

The woman claimed that Bartholomew the boa was her emotional support pet, the TSA reports. But that story – and the boa – didn’t fly.

Replica Sniper Rifle Kit

Courtesy Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY

Firearms aren’t allowed in airplane cabins or in carry-on bags. Yet, passengers try to take them onboard all the time. In 2022, TSA found more than 6,000 firearms at airport checkpoints. And most of those firearms were loaded.

Toy guns are also on TSA’s no-fly list. That includes this replica sniper rifle kit discovered in a carry-on bag this week at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) in New Hampshire.

In case you missed it, here’s TSA’s Top Ten Catches of 2022