Despite the decrease in air travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TSA agents are confiscating guns from passengers at a record rate.
More than 3,200 guns were confiscated at U.S. airports in 2020, and 83 percent of them were loaded, according to a release from the TSA. Passengers with firearms were stopped at 234 airports nationwide.
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta had the more firearms discovered out of any in the U.S. with 220. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport came in second with 176, and third was Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport with 126.
The agency says it found about ten firearms per million passengers screened last year, compared to about 5 firearms per million passengers screened in 2019, though the total amount of passengers screened fell by 500 million in 2020 versus in 2019.
“I commend our officers for their commitment to TSA’s security mission by identifying and stopping these weapons at the TSA checkpoints. Firearms are strictly prohibited onboard planes in the passenger cabin,” said Senior Official Performing the Duties of TSA Administrator Darby LaJoye. “Bringing a firearm to a TSA security checkpoint poses a serious risk to TSA officer and passenger safety, and doing so may result in significant fines or arrest.”
Find more information from the TSA here.
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