WASHINGTON – Transportation Security Administration agents found 4,432 guns in carry-on bags and on passengers last year, the most firearms ever discovered in a year.
According to the TSA, officers found an average of 12.1 firearms a day at security checkpoints in airports across the country, up about 5 percent from the 4,239 found in 2018.
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Eighty-seven percent of the weapons found in 2019 were loaded.
“The continued increase in the number of firearms that travelers bring to airport checkpoints is deeply troubling,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske.
The top five airports where TSA officers caught passengers with guns at checkpoints in 2019 were Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International with 323; Dallas/Fort Worth International with 217; Denver International with 140; George Bush Intercontinental with 138; and Phoenix Sky Harbor International with 132.
Firearms cannot be carried on to planes.
“There is a proper way to travel safely with a firearm. First and foremost, it should be unloaded. Then it should be packed in a hard-sided locked case, taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared, and checked,” Pekoske said.
Here are guidelines for traveling with guns.