A record 6,542 guns – 18 per day – were intercepted by US airport security in 2022.

ATLANTA. A woman who took off from Philadelphia airport last year made sure to carry snacks, prescription drugs and a mobile phone in her purse. But more important was what she forgot to unpack: a loaded .380 pistol in a black holster.

The weapon was one of 6,542 weapons intercepted by the Transportation Security Administration last year at airport security checkpoints across the country. That number – about 18 per day – was a record high for weapons intercepted at US airports and is a cause for concern at a time when more Americans are armed.

“What we’re seeing at our checkpoints really reflects what we’re seeing in society, and there are more people with firearms in society at the moment,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said.

With the exception of 2020 interrupted by the pandemic, the number of weapons intercepted at airport checkpoints has been on the rise every year since 2010. Experts don’t think it’s an epidemic of would-be hijackers – almost everyone caught claims to have forgotten they had a gun. with them — but they highlight the danger that even a single weapon in the wrong hands on an airplane or at a security checkpoint can pose.

The weapons were intercepted literally from Burbank, California to Bangor, Maine. But it tends to happen at major airports in areas where laws are more favorable to carrying guns, Pekoske said. The top 10 firearm interceptions in 2022 include Dallas, Austin, and Houston in Texas; three airports in Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; Atlanta; Phoenix; and Denver.

Pekosuke isn’t sure if the “I forgot” excuse is always true or if it’s a natural reaction to being caught. In any case, he said, this is a problem that needs to be addressed.

When TSA officers see what they believe to be a weapon on an X-ray machine, they usually stop the strap so the bag stays inside the machine so the passenger can’t get to it. Then they call the local police.

Consequences vary depending on local and state laws. A person can be arrested and their weapons confiscated. But sometimes they are allowed to give the gun to a comrade not flying with them and continue on their way. Unloaded firearms may also be placed in registered bags, subject to proper procedures. A woman in Philadelphia had her gun confiscated and should have been fined.

These federal fines are the TSA’s tool for punishing those who bring weapons to the checkpoint. Last year, the TSA raised the maximum fine to $14,950 as a deterrent. Passengers also lose their PreCheck status – which allows them to bypass certain types of screening – for five years. It used to be three years, but about a year ago, the agency extended the time and changed the rules. Passengers may also miss their flight or lose their weapons. If federal officials can prove that a person intended to carry a weapon through a security checkpoint into what is known as the airport’s sterile area, that would be a federal offense.

Retired TSA officer Keith Jeffries said intercepting weapons could also slow other passengers in line.

“It’s devastating no matter what,” Jeffreys said. “It’s a dangerous, illegal item and, to put it bluntly, you need to know where your weapon is so you don’t scream out loud.”

Experts and officials say the rise in gun interceptions simply reflects more Americans carrying guns.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry trade group, tracks FBI data on background checks conducted for the sale of firearms. In 2000 there were just over 7 million, and last year there were about 16.4 million. They went even higher during the coronavirus pandemic.

For TSA officers looking for prohibited items, this can be annoying.

In Atlanta, Jaycea Howard was watching an X-ray machine when she realized she was looking at a gun in a passenger’s laptop bag. She immediately flagged it as a “high danger” item and the police were notified.

Howard said that her heart seemed to sank, and she was worried that the passenger might try to get a gun. It turns out the passenger was a very apologetic businessman who said he just forgot. Howard says he understands travel can be stressful, but people need to be careful when preparing to fly.

“You have to be alert and pay attention,” she said. “This is your property.”

Atlanta Airport, one of the world’s busiest airports with about 85,000 people passing through security checkpoints on a busy day, had the most weapons intercepted in 2022 – 448 – but the number was actually lower than a year earlier. Robert Spinden, a senior TSA official in Atlanta, says the agency and the airport have made great efforts in 2021 to try to address the large number of weapons intercepted at security checkpoints.

The November 2021 incident heightened the need for their efforts. A TSA officer noticed a suspicious handgun in a passenger’s bag. When the officer opened the suitcase, the man reached for his gun and it fired. People ran for the exits and the airport was closed for 2.5 hours, airport general manager Balram Bheodari said during a congressional hearing last year.

Officials put up new signs to draw the attention of gun owners. The hologram above the checkpoint shows an image of a spinning blue gun with a red circle above the gun and a line through it. Numerous 70-inch TV screens are flashing messages that guns are prohibited.

“There are signs all over the airport. There are announcements, holograms, TVs. Quite a lot of information that kind of flashes before your eyes just to try and remind you as a last resort: if you have a firearm, do you know where it is?” Spinden said.

Miami Airport has also worked to get the attention of gun owners. Last year, the director of the airport told Congress that after setting the 2021 weapons interception record, they installed high-visibility signage and worked with airlines to warn passengers. According to him, the number of intercepted firearms has dropped dramatically.

Pekoske said signage is only part of the solution. Travelers already come across a lot of signs or announcements and don’t always pay attention to them. He also supports a gradual increase in punishments to get people’s attention.

But Aidan Johnston of gun rights group America’s Gun Owners said he would like the fines to be reduced, saying they are not a deterrent. While he would like new gun owners to get more education, he also doesn’t see it as a “serious heinous crime”.

“These are not bad people who are in dire need of punishment,” he said. “These are people who made a mistake.”

Officials believe they are catching the vast majority, but with 730 million passengers screened last year, even a tiny percentage of passengers is worrying.

Last month, musician Cliff Waddell was driving from Nashville, Tennessee to Raleigh, North Carolina when he was pulled over at a security checkpoint. The TSA officer noticed a gun in his bag. Waddell was so shocked that he initially said it couldn’t be him because he had just flown in the day before with the same bag. It turned out that the gun was in his bag, but missed during the inspection. The TSA acknowledged the slip and Pekoske says they are investigating.

Trying to figure out how the gun he keeps locked in the glove compartment got into his book bag, Waddell realized he took it out when he took the car in for repairs. Waddell said he admits he has a responsibility to know where his firearms are, but worries about how the TSA could have missed something so important.

“It was a shock for me,” he said.

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