Record number of guns confiscated at US airports, TSA says

The TSA intercepted a record number of guns at airport security checkpoints this year, the agency said on Friday, prompting it to increase the maximum fine for firearm violations. The move comes amid surges in air travel and gun sales across the country. The agency said that it had stopped 6,301 guns — more than 88% of which were loaded — from passing beyond security checkpoints. By the end of the year the administration expects to have intercepted about 6,600 guns in carry-on bags, a 10% increase over the previous record of 5,972, set in 2021. Officials increased the maximum fine for a firearms violation by nearly $1,000, to $14,950, “in order to reduce the threat of firearms at checkpoints,” the agency said. “When a passenger brings a firearm to the checkpoint, this consumes significant security resources and poses a potential threat to transportation security, in addition to being very costly for the passenger,” said the TSA administrator, David Pekoske. The announcement came about three months after the agency said that it was on pace to break the record once again, as air travel in the United States neared prepandemic levels. Besides a drop in 2020, when travelers stayed home amid pandemic lockdowns, the number of firearm interceptions by the TSA has steadily increased each year since 2010. Passengers are allowed to bring guns in checked baggage, so long as the weapons are unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container. Passengers must also declare guns at the check-in counter. But guns are not allowed in carry-on bags at any TSA checkpoint, even if a passenger has a concealed weapon permit.<br/>