The subject of guns continues to be a topic of discussion — including how they impact operations at local airports.
The Transportation Security Administration says it intercepted more than 1,500 firearms at airport checkpoints nationwide during the first quarter of 2024, averaging 16.5 per day, similar to 2023.
Registered, legal firearms and knives can only be brought on a commercial airline in checked bags. Explosives are prohibited items on any airline. Bart Johnson, the federal security director for TSA, says most people just simply forget that they have their firearm in their carry-on bags and not checked in as regulations require.
During the most recent quarter, TSA officers screened more than 206 million passengers, showing a 7.8% increase from the first quarter of 2023, when they screened more than 191 million passengers. The rate of firearms discovered per one million passengers slightly decreased from 7.9 to 7.3 compared to the same period in 2023 and in both years, 93% of the firearms were loaded.
"For upstate New York, it's a significant event, because what it does is it possibly introduces a very dangerous thing to the checkpoint and then later on to the airplane itself," Johnson said. "The good news is they're being detected and the reason they're being detected is because of the capability, the officer, the training, the standard operating procedures, the equipment in the form of an x-ray and they detect them, they freeze the weapon in the tunnel. They ask law enforcement to respond and then they take possession of not only the weapon but also the individual."
Again, passengers 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 ticket counter.
Passengers caught with firearms at security checkpoints may face arrest or citation by law enforcement, as per local laws. TSA can impose civil penalties of nearly $15,000. First-time offenders lose TSA PreCheck privileges for five years. Repeat offenses lead to permanent disqualification from the program and further fines.
More information can be found on the TSA website.