The Transportation Security Administration intercepted a record 6,542 firearms at airport checkpoints across the country last year.
The number is an all-time high for firearms intercepted at US airports. This roughly translates to about 18 firearms intercepted every day.
With the exception of a pandemic-disrupted 2020, the number of weapons intercepted at airport checkpoints has increased every year since 2010.
Experts tell The Associated Press that the problem isn’t that people seek to do harm by getting a gun through security, but more often than not people just forget they had a gun. with them.
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A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent’s patch is seen as she helps travelers place their luggage through the 3D scanner at Miami International Airport on May 21, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
TSA Administrator David Pekoske told the AP that firearms tend to be intercepted at major airports in areas with more gun-friendly laws.
The list of top 10 gun interceptions in 2022 includes Dallas, Austin and Houston in Texas; three airports in Florida; Nashville, TN; Atlanta; Phoenix; and Denver.
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FILE – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says a new record has been set at Orlando International Airport where 154 passengers brought weapons through security checkpoints. (Fox 35)
Penalties range from arrest to simple confiscation of the weapon. Local and state laws play a major role in determining repercussions. Sometimes flyers are allowed to give the weapon to another person who is not traveling with them and continue on their way.
Unloaded weapons may be placed in checked bags, but proper procedures must be followed.
So far this year, TSA agents have prevented the transport of 14 firearms on planes, and 13 of those guns have been loaded.
Those who bore arms were between 24 and 52 years old.
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FILE – Fort Lauderdale airport security officers made the discovery recently, saying on Twitter that the weapon was found wrapped inside the packaged raw chicken. (TSA/Twitter)
“If you’re traveling with your gun, it must be in your checked baggage, but make sure you know exactly the gun laws on either side of your trip,” the TSA’s director of federal security said. Arden Hudson. “Firearms may not be legal to carry even in checked baggage in some jurisdictions.”
The Associated Press and Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
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