TSA screened record number of travelers;
firearms detections nearly same
WASHINGTON, July 9, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- The Transportation Security Administration (TSA),
which has screened higher passenger volumes this summer and a
record-breaking 3 million passengers on Sunday, July 7, intercepted 3,269 firearms at
airport security checkpoints during the first half of 2024. The
first half of the year ended June 30
and the total represents an average 19 firearms detected per day at
TSA checkpoints; more than 94% were loaded.
While the number of firearms discovered during this period last
year is nearly the same at 3,251, the total number of passengers
increased. TSA has screened nearly 7% more passengers during the
first half of 2024 than during the same period in 2023. During the
second quarter of 2024, TSOs screened more than 236 million
passengers, compared to more than 221 million passengers in the
second quarter of 2023.
In the first 8 days of July, which represents the third quarter
and will be included in the October press release, Transportation
Security Officers (TSOs) nationwide intercepted 166 additional
firearms, bringing the total through July
8 to 3,435 firearms. The rate of passengers with firearms
during the most recent quarter was 7.5 firearms per one million
passengers, which is a slight decrease from the same period in
2023, when the rate of discovery was 7.9 firearms per one million
passengers.
|
Firearms at
checkpoints
|
Firearms
per day
|
Rate per million
passengers
|
Percentage
loaded
|
Total passengers
screened
|
Q2 2024
|
1,768
|
19.4
|
7.5
|
94 %
|
>236
million
|
Q2 2023
|
1,745
|
19.2
|
7.9
|
92 %
|
>221
million
|
"During a period of record-breaking travel volumes, our officers
are working hard to keep our transportation systems secure and the
traveling public safe, and any time they detect a firearm, there is
a real safety concern for frontline employees and travelers,"
said TSA Administrator David
Pekoske. "If you carry a firearm, you are required to place
it unloaded and locked in a hard-sided case in your checked bag and
declare it to the airline when checking in at the airline ticket
counter. Do not bring it to the checkpoint. It is costly and delays
you and everyone else traveling in the same lane with you."
TSA encourages airline passengers to #PreparePackDeclare and
learn the proper packing procedures before arriving at the airport.
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 airline
ticket counter
Firearms are prohibited at security checkpoints, in the secure
area of an airport and in the passenger cabin of an aircraft, even
if a passenger has a concealed carry permit or is in a
constitutional carry jurisdiction. When traveling internationally,
airline passengers must be aware of the foreign destination's laws,
which may prohibit travel with firearms and carry significant
criminal penalties.
As a reminder, TSA does not confiscate or seize firearms. If a
passenger brings a firearm to the security checkpoint on their
person or in their carry-on luggage, the officer will contact local
law enforcement to safely unload and take possession of the
firearm. Law enforcement may also arrest or cite the passenger,
depending on local law. TSA may impose a civil penalty up to almost
$15,000, and for the first offense,
passengers who bring a firearm to a security checkpoint will lose
TSA PreCheck® eligibility for five years.
For more information on how to properly travel with a firearm,
visit the Transporting Firearms and Ammunition page on TSA.gov. To
view the complete list of penalties, go to TSA.gov.
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SOURCE Transportation Security Administration