firearms at airport checkpoints

TSA found 3,257 firearms in carry-on bags in 2020

Travel was way down in 2020. But that didn’t stop those who were getting on airplanes from having firearms in their carry-on bags.

In a report released today, TSA says its officers found 3,257 firearms on passengers or in their carry-on bags at checkpoints. Of those firearms caught, about 83 percent were loaded.

In 2019, TSA officers stopped a record 4,432 firearms, of which 87 percent were loaded.

Firearems were found at 234 airports.

Here are Top 10 Airports where TSA found firearms at the checkpoints

AIRPORT (CODE)TOTAL
1Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)220
2Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)176
3Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)126
4Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)124
5Denver International Airport (DEN)104
6Nashville International Airport (BNA)94
7Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)87
8Orlando International Airport (MCO)79
9Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS)72
10Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)71

While firearms aren’t allowed in carry-on bags (for obvious reasons…) airline passengers may fly with firearms if they are properly packed as checked baggage. There are state and local firearms laws that passengers must be sure to comply with.

What happens if you’re found with a firearm in your carry-on?

In some cities, local police are called over and may file criminal charges.

TSA says it can assess civil penalties that vary by the number of previous offenses and whether the firearm was loaded at the time. Fines can exceed more than $10,000. range.

How many firearms did TSA find at airport checkpoints in 2019?

It’s a number we anxiously wait for each year.

And it’s a number that sadly keeps going up.

In its annual Year in Review, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today shared the tally of the number of firearms its officers found at airport checkpoints around the country all last year.

The total: an alarming and record-setting 4,432 firearms were found at airport security checkpoints in 2019.

That’s an average of 85.2 firearms per week, or 12.1 firearms per day.

It’s also a 5% increase the 4,239 firearms discovered at airport checkpoints in 2018.

Here are some more stats from TSA’s 2019 firearm finds:

*Of the 4,432 firearms found, 3,863 were found loaded. And1,507 of those firearms had a round loaded.

*TSA found guns at 278 of the country’s 440 federalized airports, but firearms showed up more often at some airport than others.

Here are the Top Ten Airports where the most firearms were found:

  1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL): 323. That’s 25 more firearms than were found at ATL in 2018
  2. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): 217
  3. Denver International Airport (DEN): 140
  4. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH): 138
  5. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX): 132
  6. Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL): 103
  7. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL): 100
  8. Nashville International Airport (BNA): 97
  9. Orlando International Airport (MCO): 96
  10. Tampa International Airport (TPA): 87

For the record, firearms aren’t allowed past airport security checkpoints. But TSA says many firearms owners say “Oops, I forgot that was in my bag,” when their weapons are found at the airport.

Being caught with a gun at the airport can get you arrested, fined more than $13,000 per violation and cause you to lose your TSA Precheck status, should you have that.

TSA takes on Star Wars, pups and checkpoint firearms.

Today’s tidbits come from some of the social media notices shared by the folks at Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

First: On its @askTSA site, TSA is answering questions from Star Wars fans heading to a Disney park to visit the Galaxy’s Edge attraction.

People are curious about how TSA will deal wtih some of the out-of-this-world souvenirs, like “thermal detonator” coke bottle souvenirs.

TSA says don’t try putting these ‘thermal detonator’ soda bottle souvenirs in carry-on luggage. Athough they’re filled with soda, they look like something else.

And that’s why they say those items should be put in checked bags.

TSA also shared the winner of its National Dog Day Cutest K9 contest. Congrats to Alfie!

And, as it does most every week, TSA reported the number of firearms found in carry-on bags at airport checkpoints in the previous week.

Between August 19 and 25, TSA officers found 69 firearms in carry-on bags.

That tally is actually on the low end.

But, of the 69 firearms discovered in carry-on bags last week, 59 were loaded and 23 had a round chambered.

165 guns found at airport checkpoints in 2 weeks. What??

On the TSA blog each week there’s a report on the number of firearms – and loaded firearms – officers find at airport checkpoints.

The weekly numbers – and images – always alarm me. But this week’s report on the number of firearms found in the past TWO weeks is super alarming: over the past two weeks TSA officers found 165 firearms at airport checkpoints.

79 one week. 86 the week after.

Of those 165 firearms, TSA tells us 144 were loaded (!) and 56 had a round chambered.

Whenever I write about this I get emails telling me not to worry.  “Those aren’t terrorists,” people tell me, “Just innocent ‘regular’ people who forgot they had their guns with them.”

What happens to these people? Often, nothing.

Depending on the state and the situation, travelers are somtimes just told to come back without their gun. Sometimes there’s a fine. Occasionally, an arrest.

You’d think that since by law no passengers are allowed to bring guns into the secure side of an airport – or onto an airpane – the number of people bringing guns to the airport would be decreasing.

But the yearly tallies just go up.

Any solutions??

 

 

 

 

 

Another record number of firearms found at airport checkpoints

TSA guns august 18

There’s got to be something wrong with the fact that, on the heels of the havoc caused by false reports of gunfire at JFK Airport, and after so many years of being reminded that it is prohibited to take firearms through airport security checkpoints, the TSA reports yet another record breaking week for discovering firearms in carry-on bags at the nation’s airport security checkpoints.

According to the TSA’s blog, between August 12 and August 18, TSA officers found 81 (!!) firearms in passengers’ carry-on bags. Of those 81 firearms, 70 were loaded and 30 had a round chambered.

80 firearms founds beats the record of 78 firearms found, a record set just week.