TSA Stopped A Record 6,737 Guns From Getting On Planes In 2023—93% Of Them Loaded

10.01.2024 - 18:17 / forbes.com / David Pekoske

Last year, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers across the country intercepted a record 6,737 firearms—93% of them loaded—at airport security checkpoints, according to the agency.

The number of guns caught at airports has tripled in the past decade. The record set in 2023 surpasses the previous record set just a year earlier of 6,542 firearms stopped at checkpoints and represents the highest one-year total in TSA’s history. The 2022 record was a 10% increase over 2021’s record catch of 5,972 firearms.

Last year, TSA officers at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport security checkpoints stopped 451 firearms, the largest volume of all U.S. airports. At No. 2, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport caught 378 guns from getting on planes. Rounding out the top 5 were Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (311 guns), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (235) and Denver International Airport (178).

“We are still seeing far too many firearms at TSA checkpoints, and what’s particularly concerning is the amount of them loaded, presenting an unnecessary risk to everyone at the TSA checkpoint,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske.

What is driving this surge of passengers packing guns? Agency officials have pointed to the rise in permitless carry laws, a legislative priority for the National Rifle Association. Such laws are now in place in 28 states. “We've got a significant rise in the population of new, never-before gun owners. And then we have a significant rise in new air travelers,” a TSA official told Forbes just over a year ago.

Guns, ammunition and gun parts are prohibited beyond airport security checkpoints. Passengers may legally travel with their firearms, but only if they are packed, unloaded, in a locked hard-sided case in checked luggage and declared with the airline before the flight.

When a TSA officer spots a handgun on the x-ray machine at a checkpoint, all screening stops while local law enforcement is notified. The local police then takes control of the firearm and removes the traveler and the weapon from the checkpoint. Travelers caught with firearms at checkpoints may be subject to criminal charges in states and local jurisdictions that have stricter gun restrictions.

Yet regardless of local firearm laws, getting caught with a loaded firearm at an airport checkpoint carries a minimum civil fine of $3,000. For repeat offenders, the maximum potential penalty is $14,950.

“Firearms and ammunition are strictly prohibited in carry-on baggage,” said Pekoske.

In addition, a passenger caught with a gun at an airport checkpoint can expect the TSA to revoke TSA PreCheck eligibility for at least five years. The TSA may also conduct “enhanced screening