More than 6,600 firearms were intercepted at airport security checkpoints in the year and nearly all of them were loaded, the Transportation Safety Administration said.
TSA said the number — 6,678 to be exact — is a slight decline from 2023 but added that “one firearm at a checkpoint is too many.”
Most of the firearms were found at checkpoints in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, according to the agency.
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TSA also said it screened more than 904 million people last year, meaning the agency intercepted 7.4 firearms per million people.
When an undeclared firearm is detected at a checkpoint local law enforcement is contacted to remove the individual and the firearm from the checkpoint area.
Depending on the state and law enforcement agency penalties could include fines or arrests.
TSA said, "If individuals who carry a firearm intend to travel, we remind them that the firearm must be unloaded, locked in a hard-sided case, declared to the airline at the check-in counter and transported in checked baggage.”
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