![]() “It’s your property.”Ītlanta's airport, one of the world's busiest with roughly 85,000 people going through checkpoints on a busy day, had the most guns intercepted in 2022 - 448 - but that number was actually lower than the year before. “You have to be alert and pay attention," she said. Howard says she understands travel can be stressful but that people have to take care when they're getting ready for a flight. It turns out the passenger was a very apologetic businessman who said he simply forgot. Howard said it felt like her heart dropped, and she was worried the passenger might try to get the gun. She immediately flagged it as a “high-threat” item and police were notified. In Atlanta, Janecia Howard was monitoring the X-ray machine when she realized she was looking at a gun in a passenger’s laptop bag. They went even higher during the coronavirus pandemic.įor the TSA officers searching for prohibited items, it can be jarring. The numbers were a little over 7 million in 2000 and about 16.4 million last year. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry trade group, tracks FBI data about background checks completed for a firearm sale. “It’s a dangerous, prohibited item and, let’s face it, you should know where your gun is at, for crying out loud.”Įxperts and officials say the rise in gun interceptions simply reflects that more Americans are carrying guns. “It’s disruptive no matter what,” Jeffries said. Retired TSA official Keith Jeffries said gun interceptions can also slow other passengers in line. If federal officials can prove the person intended to bring the gun past the checkpoint into what’s called the airport’s sterile area, it's a federal offense. ![]() Passengers may also miss their flight as well as lose their gun. It used to be three years, but about a year ago the agency increased the time and changed the rules. Passengers also lose their PreCheck status - it allows them to bypass some types of screening - for five years. ![]() Last year TSA raised the maximum fine to $14,950 as a deterrent. Those federal fines are the TSA’s tool to punish those who bring a gun to a checkpoint. The woman in Philadelphia saw her gun confiscated and was slated to be fined. Unloaded guns can also be placed in checked bags assuming they follow proper procedures. But sometimes they’re allowed to give the gun to a companion not flying with them and continue on their way. The person may be arrested and have the gun confiscated. Repercussions vary depending on local and state laws. When TSA staffers see what they believe to be a weapon on the X-ray machine, they usually stop the belt so the bag stays inside the machine and the passenger can’t get to it. Regardless, he said, it’s a problem that must stop. Pekoske isn't sure the “I forgot” excuse is always true or whether it's a natural reaction to getting caught. The top 10 list for gun interceptions in 2022 includes Dallas, Austin and Houston in Texas three airports in Florida Nashville, Tennessee Atlanta Phoenix and Denver. But it tends to happen more at bigger airports in areas with laws more friendly to carrying a gun, Pekoske said. Guns have been intercepted literally from Burbank, California, to Bangor, Maine. Experts don't think this is an epidemic of would-be hijackers - nearly everyone caught claims to have forgotten they had a gun with them - but they emphasize the danger even one gun can pose in the wrong hands on a plane or at a checkpoint. With the exception of pandemic-disrupted 2020, the number of weapons intercepted at airport checkpoints has climbed every year since 2010. “What we see in our checkpoints really reflects what we’re seeing in society, and in society there are more people carrying firearms nowadays,” TSA administrator David Pekoske said. airports, and is sparking concern at a time when more Americans are armed. The number - roughly 18 per day - was an all-time high for guns intercepted at U.S. The weapon was one of the 6,542 guns the Transportation Security Administration intercepted last year at airport checkpoints across the country. ![]() But what was more important was what she forgot to unpack: a loaded. ATLANTA - The woman flying out of Philadelphia’s airport last year remembered to pack snacks, prescription medicine and a cellphone in her handbag. ![]()
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