(NEXSTAR) – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) intercepted 1,503 guns at airport checkpoints in the first quarter of 2024 alone — a very minor decrease over the 1,508 firearms found during the same quarter in 2023.
More “promising,” according to the TSA, is 2024’s lower rate of firearms found per passenger. In the first quarter of 2023, the TSA said 7.9 guns were detected for every million passengers traveling, while only 7.3 firearms were intercepted for every million passengers in 2024. (TSA agents screened 191 million passengers in Q1 of 2023, vs. 206 million in Q1 2024.)
“While it is certainly promising that the rate of passengers bringing firearms to the checkpoint has decreased, one firearm at the checkpoint is too many,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske was quoted as saying in a Thursday news release.
Perhaps the most shocking statistic included with Thursday’s news release was the percentage of intercepted firearms that were considered “loaded.” According to the TSA, a whopping 93% of the guns found at airport checkpoints in Q1 of 2024 were loaded — the same percentage during the same quarter in 2023.
It’s worth noting that the TSA considers any firearm “loaded” if the gun and ammunition are both accessible to the passenger — e.g., if they’re in the same bag, or in separate bags accessible to the same traveler, even if the gun itself has no ammunition in it.
The TSA did not identify which airports, or at which checkpoints, the most guns were detected. When asked, a representative for the agency told Nexstar that information wouldn’t be available until early 2025.
The “top 10 airports for firearm discoveries” in the entirety of 2023, however, have previously been identified by the TSA. They include three airports in Texas, three in Florida, and one each in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Tennessee.
The agency also confirmed that TSA officials have intercepted an increasing number of guns at U.S. checkpoints nearly every year since 2008 — the exception being 2020, amid decreased travel activity during the pandemic.
The TSA does not confiscate any firearms, but rather contacts local law enforcement officials to deal with offenders, some of whom may be arrested and face criminal charges.
Offenders may also face civil penalties from the TSA, with fines as high as $14,950 or more for repeat offenders. (Those found with loaded guns can face a top fine, as well as criminal referral by the TSA.)
“The demand for air travel is as strong as ever and security is always our number one priority,” Pekoske added in Thursday’s statement. “Every time we discover a firearm at the checkpoint, the security screening process is slowed down for all.”
Passengers transporting firearms are urged to follow the TSA’s guidelines for properly packing guns and ammunition in checked bags, to prevent any danger or disruption to other passengers.