The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reports that it intercepted a total of 6,678 firearms at airport security checkpoints south of the border in 2024, equating to 7.4 firearms per million people. Shockingly, 94 percent of them were loaded.

Based on screening 904 million travellers in 2024, the total number of gun interceptions did represent a “minor decrease” from 7.8 firearms per million people in 2023, notes the TSA, which conducts a public awareness campaign “Prepare, Pack, Declare” to explain the steps for safely travelling with a firearm.

“One firearm at a checkpoint is too many,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “Firearms present a safety risk for our employees and everyone else at the checkpoint. It’s also costly and slows down operations. 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.”

When a firearm is detected at a security checkpoint, a TSO immediately contacts local law enforcement, who will remove the individual and the firearm from the checkpoint area. Depending on local laws, the law enforcement officer may arrest or cite the individual. TSA does not confiscate firearms.

In addition to any action taken by law enforcement, individuals who bring a firearm to a TSA checkpoint face a maximum civil penalty of $14,950, will have their TSA PreCheck eligibility revoked for at least five years and will undergo enhanced screening to ensure there are no other threats present.

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