TSA Intercepted Over 6,000 Firearms at Airports in 2024

• The TSA mentioned it intercepted 6,678 firearms at airport safety checkpoints final yr.
• It was a small lower from final yr — however incidents have doubled since 2015.
• Probably the most firearms, 440, have been detected at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport.

The Transportation Safety Administration intercepted 6,678 firearms at airport checkpoints final yr, it introduced Wednesday.

That is a median of greater than 18 firearms a day.

The company screened greater than 904 million individuals, that means there was a median fee of seven.4 firearms per each million individuals.

It added that 94% of the firearms have been loaded.

The figures for 2024 signify a slight lower from final yr’s document 6,737 — however solely by 0.9%.

Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless the one yr up to now decade — apart from 2020, when journey was crippled by the pandemic — that has seen a drop within the variety of firearms detected at airports.

The determine has greater than doubled since 2015.

One of many TSA’s interceptions final yr included an airline crew member carrying a loaded 9mm handgun at Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport.

The TSA additionally launched statistics for which airports see probably the most firearms.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport, Delta Air Traces’ major hub, noticed probably the most at 440. It was intently adopted by the 390 at Dallas/Fort Price Airport, which is American Airways’ largest hub.

4 of the highest 10 airports have been in Texas, whereas two have been in Florida.

The TSA mentioned that when a firearm is discovered at an airport safety checkpoint, regulation enforcement can be contacted and take away the passenger from the world.

Along with any motion taken by native regulation enforcement, passengers who deliver a firearm to a safety checkpoint face a tremendous of as much as $15,000.

“One firearm at a checkpoint is simply too many,” mentioned TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “Firearms current a security threat for our staff and everybody else on the checkpoint. It is also pricey and slows down operations.”

“If people who carry a firearm intend to journey, we remind them that the firearm have to be unloaded, locked in a hard-sided case, declared to the airline on the check-in counter, and transported in checked baggage,” he added.