Guns at airports are on the rise, says TSA
13 May 2022, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Rottweil: A Walther PDP Full Size 9mm handgun and 9mm Luger cartridges lie on a table of a sports shooter. Photo: Silas Stein/ (Photo by Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images)
ATLANTA - Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers detected 1,508 firearms at airport security checkpoints in the first quarter of 2023, which ended on March 31, according to a TSA news release on Tuesday. The agency caught an average of 16.8 firearms per day during the quarter, and over 93% of the firearms were loaded.
Compared to the first quarter of 2022, the number of firearms caught during the same period in 2023 represented a 10.3% increase. However, the number of passengers also rose from 158 million in Q1 2022 to over 191 million in Q1 2023, marking an increase of 20.4%. The rate of passengers with firearms in the most recent quarter was 7.9 firearms per one million passengers, slightly down from the 8.6 firearms per one million passengers in the same period last year.
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport topped the list last year for most firearms found in luggage. The TSA says that a total of 448 firearms were found in luggage at ATL in 2022.
Carrying firearms in carry-on bags, at TSA security checkpoints, and on board aircraft is strictly prohibited, even if a passenger has a concealed carry permit. Passengers who bring firearms to the TSA security checkpoint face significant penalties, including a five-year suspension of their TSA PreCheck® eligibility and additional screening to ensure that no other threats are present. TSA recently increased the maximum civil penalty for a firearms violation to $14,950.
PREVIOUS STORY: Gun makes it through security checkpoint at Atlanta's airport, TSA says
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms if they pack them properly in checked baggage and declare them to the airline at check-in. However, airlines may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition, so travelers must contact their airline regarding firearm and ammunition carriage policies prior to arriving at the airport.
The other airports that had the biggest problem in 2022 were Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport with 385; Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport with 298; Nashville International Airport with 213; and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport with 196.