TSA stop 3269 firearms at airport security so far in 2024

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which have so far screened a record-breaking 3 million passengers on Sunday 7 July, intercepted 3269 firearms at airport security checkpoints between January and 30 June. The total represents an average of 19 firearms detected each day at TSA checkpoints. More than 94% were loaded.

While the number of firearms discovered during the period is nearly the same as last year, the total number of passengers has increased. TSA has screened nearly 7% more passengers during the first half of this year than the same period in 2023. During Q2 2024, TSOs screened more than 236 million passengers, compared to more than 221 million passengers in the second quarter of 2023.

The passengers with firearms rate during the most recent quarter was 7.5 million firearms per one million passengers – a slight decrease from the same period in 2023.

“During a period of record-breaking travel volumes, our officers are working hard to keep our transportation systems secure and the travelling public safe, and any time they detect a firearm, there is a real safety concern for frontline employees and travellers,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “If you carry a firearm, you are required to place it unloaded and locked in a hard-sided case in your checked bag and declare it to the airline when checking in at the airline ticket counter. Do not bring it to the checkpoint. It is costly and delays you and everyone else travelling in the same lane with you.”

TSA encourages airline passengers to #PreparePackDeclare and learn the proper packing procedures before arriving at the airport. Passengers (in the U.S.) may travel with a firearm, but it must be:

• Secured in the passenger’s checked baggage
• Packed unloaded
• Locked in a hard-sided case
• Declared to the airline when checking the bag at the airline ticket counter

Firearms are prohibited at security checkpoints, in the secure area of an airport and in the passenger cabin of an aircraft, even if a passenger has a concealed carry permit or is in a constitutional carry jurisdiction. When travelling internationally, airline passengers must be aware of the foreign destination’s laws, which may prohibit travel with firearms and carry significant criminal penalties.

As a reminder, the TSA does not confiscate or seize firearms. If a passenger brings a firearm to the security checkpoint on their person or in their carry-on luggage, the officer will contact local law enforcement to safely unload and take possession of the firearm. Law enforcement may also arrest or cite the passenger, depending on local law. TSA may impose a civil penalty up to almost $15,000, and for the first offence, passengers who bring a firearm to a security checkpoint will lose TSA PreCheck® eligibility for five years.