TSA Confiscated Record Number of Guns From Carry Ons in 2016

TSA Confiscated Record Number of Guns From Carry Ons in 2016

On Thursday, the TSA released its numbers for the number of firearms they confiscated at security checkpoints throughout 2016.  Nationwide, the TSA confiscated 3,391 firearms, a 28% increase from the 2,653 firearms they confiscated in 2015.  The TSA also announced that 83% of the firearms confiscated were loaded.

The top five airports where firearms were confiscated are,

1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – 198 firearms confiscated
2. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport – 192 firearms confiscated
3. George Bush Intercontinental at Houston – 128 firearms confiscated
4. Phoenix Sky Harbor International – 101 firearms confiscated
5. Denver International – 98 firearms confiscated

The Washington D.C. Metropolitan airports had a total of 67 confiscated firearms, a 34% increase from the number of firearms confiscated the previous year.  Washington Dulles International Airport and Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall tied with the most in the region, with 24 firearms confiscated at each.  At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, 19 firearms were confiscated.

The release advised passengers on policies for traveling with firearms:

“Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition. Ammunition must be in its original box and can be packed inside the hard-sided case, next to the firearm. Even if the box of ammunition is not full, the bullets must be in their original case. Then the case with the firearm should be brought to the airline check-in counter and the airline representative should be informed that the passenger wants to travel with the gun. Firearms are transported inside checked baggage and are placed in the belly of the aircraft. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on TSA.gov.”