The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reports that its officers intercepted 1,503 firearms in carry-on bags at security checkpoints in U.S. airports during the first quarter of 2024.
This number is very close to the TSA’s interceptions in the first quarter of 2023, when 1,508 firearms were intercepted, the agency said in a press release. Overall, 2023 set a record for the number of firearms discovered by agents at security checkpoints.
To help understand these numbers, the interceptions for 2024 average 16.5 detections per day from January to March. In the first quarter of 2023, interceptions reached an average of 16.8 detections per day.
Although the number of seized firearms has remained constant between 2023 and 2024, there is one shocking statistic that has stayed the same – in both periods, 93% of the intercepted firearms were loaded with ammunition.
The Rules on Firearms and Flying
People are allowed to transport firearms on flights, but they are “prohibited at security checkpoints, in the secure area of an airport, and in the passenger cabin of an aircraft. Instead, the firearm “must be properly packed as checked baggage and declared to the airline at the ticket counter,” the TSA informs.
The TSA states that the passenger must follow these steps to legally carry a firearm in an airport:
• Store the firearm in checked baggage.
• Unload the firearm and lock it in a hard case.
• Declare the firearm to the airline when checking in baggage at the ticket counter.
Ammunition is not allowed in carry-on baggage but is permitted in checked baggage. However, it must be stored properly and cannot be “stored” in the firearm.
The TSA states that “it does not confiscate or seize firearms. If a passenger brings a firearm with them or in their carry-on baggage to the security checkpoint, law enforcement will be contacted to safely unload and take possession of the firearm.”
Source: CNN