A hat tip to “Three Shots McGee” for sharing a story about what happens in Australia when someone is found with a loaded gun in their carry-on. As he says, having a passenger show up at an airport checkpoint with a loaded gun is an “Aussie airport event that almost never happens.”
But the passenger, an American, had an American excuse:
“The man claimed he had forgotten the weapon was in his luggage but this situation could have had deadly consequences for other travelers, even if it had discharged accidentally during the flight,” said Det. A/Supt. Sykes.
Meanwhile, in the United States, TSA officers found 5,972 firearms at airport security checkpoints in 2021. That is a significant increase from the 3,257 firearms found in carry-ons in 2020 when travel was down due to the pandemic. But it’s a serious spike over the 4,432 firearms found at airport checkpoints in 2019, pre-pandemic.
One of the most common excuses people give TSA officers is “Oops, I forgot that was in there.”
In the U.S., some people face fines and criminal charges when found with guns in their carry-ons. But in many cities and in many states, due to local laws all TSA can do is tell people to put the gun back in their car, put it in their checked bag, or give it to someone (ideally, someone they know…) to take home.
@hbaskas An Aussie airport event that almost never happens – guns at checkpoints. And in what isn’t a surprise, it’s an American with the gun. I suspect this person will be enjoying an extended unplanned stay in Australia, followed by deportation. https://t.co/zL77HnNyKI
— Three Shots McGee 💉 (Michael) (@twcau) March 7, 2022
We’re still missing the corny communications TSA’s Blogger Bob Burns once shared with the public, but Lisa Farbstein and the team on duty now are doing a great job of keeping the public informed with light but serious messages about what can and cannot go through airport security checkpoints.
Assault rifles aren't allowed on airplanes so there's no need to bring a gun magazine for an assault rifle with you. Besides, it's prohibited from being brought onto a flight. This one detected in a carry-on bag recently by @TSA officers at @PHLAirportpic.twitter.com/7PYHllDPvB
— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) July 19, 2021
— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) July 19, 2021
The tweets about the guns and other weapons people try to take through airport security checkpoints always alarm us, but this Tweet and the story of a TSA officer finding and returning a lost diamond is very heartwarming.
.@TSA at @JFKairport returned this diamond that fell out of a newlywed's ring at one of the checkpoints recently. The traveler was relieved to find out that the stone was found. "Our trip went from a chaotic moment to one at peace." Here's the full story: https://t.co/qDveY6xcBqpic.twitter.com/bhHjZ3IFUg
— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) July 19, 2021
TSA’s Year in Review came out today with the (still somewhat unofficial) final stats on the number of guns TSA officers found in carry-on bags at airport checkpoints last year.
The total for 2018 is a record-setting 4,239 firearms found in carry-on bags at 249 of the more than 400 TSA-controlled airport checkpoints around the country.
That’s up more than 7 percent from the 3,957 firearms TSA officers found in carry-on bags in 2017.
And that averages out to 81.6 firearms a week and 11.6 firearms a day.
The break-down gets more alarming when we look at the stats on the number of guns found to be loaded.
Of the 4,239 firearms found last year, more than 86% (3,656) were loaded (another record) and almost 34% (1,432) of the firearms found had a round chambered.
Why do so many passengers show up at airports with guns?
“I think the biggest reason is that people go buy these things and then completely forget they have them, which is dangerous in its own right,” said aviation security expert Jeff Price, the owner of Leading Edge Strategies, “I imagine when they get the gun, at first they are always aware of it because they feel safer. Then, after a period of time, it works its way to the bottom of the bag and next thing that happens is its discovered at a screening checkpoint.”
Price also suspects that because more people are carrying guns these days and carry those guns in purses and laptops, they are aware they have the guns, “But in the hustle and confusion of preparing for a trip, they forget to take the gun out. “
TSA’s Year in Review also lists the top 10 airports for firearm discoveries in 2018.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) the Top 10 list with 298 firearms found. (253 loaded.) That’s an increase of 53 compared to 2017.
ATL also set the record for the airport with the most firearms discovered in one month: In August 2018, 32 firearms were found at ATL checkpoints.
Here’s the rest of TSA’s Top 10 list of airports for firearms discoveries in 2018:
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): 219 (193 loaded)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX): 129 (120 loaded)
Denver International Airport (DEN): 126 (95 loaded)
Orlando
International Airport (MCO): 123 (112 loaded)
George
Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH): 117 (115 loaded). Some good news here: this
is a decrease of 25 compared to 2017.
Fort
Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL): 96 (80 loaded)
Austin-Bergstrom
International Airport (AUS): 93 (76 loaded)
Dallas
Love Field Airport (DAL): 89 (83 loaded)
Nashville
International Airport (BNA): 86 (80 loaded)
In a year when TSA also screened a record number of travelers (813.8 million; a 5.5 percent increase over 2017), the agency’s officers also found a wide variety of prohibited items and ‘artfully concealed’ objects other than firearms in carry-on bags, including inert grenades, a bottle of lighter fluid, fireworks and knife combs.
TSA’s week in review also notes the loss in 2018 of Curtis “Blogger Bob” Burns, the charmingly corny TSA employee who chronicled the agency’s odd finds on the TSA blog, on Twitter and on Instagram. Burns is featured in quirky videos highlighting TSA Top 10 Most Unusual Finds in 2016 and in 2017.
TSA’s Year in Review promises that a video highlighting 2018’s most unusual finds will be released soon.
In the latest issue, for example, we learned that 28 firearms were found at airport checkpoints nationwide this week – a tally that is not that unusual.
Of those 28 firearms, 25 were loaded and eight had rounds chambered. And among the loaded firearms was one discovered strapped to the ankle of a passenger at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT).
I wonder if that passenger gave the excuse most people do when found with firearms at airports: “Oops, I forgot that was there.”
British Airways billboards: how do they do that?
British Airways is rolling out video billboards that show children pointing to the sky whenever a British Airlines plane flies by. The airline says there’s some sort of “digital “wizardry” involved that allows the billboards to “know” the flight number and city a plane is arriving from and display it on the screen.
The first billboard was installed in Chiswick, a suburb west of London. Bustling Picadilly Circus gets one as well.
More than a dozen statues are scheduled to get yarn bombed this season as the city goes a little knit-crazy with sweater -themed events and ugly sweater promotions at several hotels.
At the Mark Spencer, for example, any guest wearing an ugly sweater at check-in will automatically receive a free room upgrade. And at the Heathman Hotel, ugly sweaters will be issued to all dogs checking in with their people.
on December 6 at 