The woman flying out of Philadelphia\u2019s airport last year remembered to pack snacks, prescription medicine and a cellphone in her handbag. But what was more important was what she forgot to unpack: a loaded .380-caliber handgun in a black holster.
\nThe weapon was one of the 6,542 guns the Transportation Security Administration intercepted last year at airport checkpoints across the country. The number \u2014 roughly 18 per day \u2014 was an all-time high for guns intercepted at U.S. airports, and is sparking concern at a time when more Americans are armed.
\n\u201cWhat we see in our checkpoints really reflects what we\u2019re seeing in society, and in society there are more people carrying firearms nowadays,\u201d TSA administrator David Pekoske said.
\nWith the exception of pandemic-disrupted 2020, the number of weapons intercepted at airport checkpoints has climbed every year since 2010. Experts don\u2019t think this is an epidemic of would-be hijackers \u2014 nearly everyone caught claims to have forgotten they had a gun with them \u2014 but they emphasize the danger even one gun can pose in the wrong hands on a plane or at a checkpoint.
\nGuns have been intercepted literally from Burbank, California, to Bangor, Maine. But it tends to happen more at bigger airports in areas with laws more friendly to carrying a gun, Pekoske said. The top 10 list for gun interceptions in 2022 includes Dallas, Austin and Houston in Texas; three airports in Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; Atlanta; Phoenix; and Denver.
\nPekoske isn\u2019t sure the \u201cI forgot\u201d excuse is always true or whether it\u2019s a natural reaction to getting caught. Regardless, he said, it\u2019s a problem that must stop.
\nWhen TSA staffers see what they believe to be a weapon on the X-ray machine, they usually stop the belt so the bag stays inside the machine and the passenger can\u2019t get to it. Then they call in local police.
\nRepercussions vary depending on local and state laws. The person may be arrested and have the gun confiscated. But sometimes they\u2019re allowed to give the gun to a companion not flying with them and continue on their way. Unloaded guns can also be placed in checked bags assuming they follow proper procedures. The woman in Philadelphia saw her gun confiscated and was slated to be fined.
\nThose federal fines are the TSA\u2019s tool to punish those who bring a gun to a checkpoint. Last year TSA raised the maximum fine to $14,950 as a deterrent. Passengers also lose their PreCheck status \u2014 it allows them to bypass some types of screening \u2014 for five years. It used to be three years, but about a year ago the agency increased the time and changed the rules. Passengers may also miss their flight as well as lose their gun. If federal officials can prove the person intended to bring the gun past the checkpoint into what\u2019s called the airport\u2019s sterile area, it\u2019s a federal offense.
\nRetired TSA official Keith Jeffries said gun interceptions can also slow other passengers in line.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s disruptive no matter what,\u201d Jeffries said. \u201cIt\u2019s a dangerous, prohibited item and, let\u2019s face it, you should know where your gun is at, for crying out loud.\u201d
\nExperts and officials say the rise in gun interceptions simply reflects that more Americans are carrying guns.
\nThe National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry trade group, tracks FBI data about background checks completed for a firearm sale. The numbers were a little over 7 million in 2000 and about 16.4 million last year. They went even higher during the coronavirus pandemic.
\nFor the TSA officers searching for prohibited items, it can be jarring.
\nIn Atlanta, Janecia Howard was monitoring the X-ray machine when she realized she was looking at a gun in a passenger\u2019s laptop bag. She immediately flagged it as a \u201chigh-threat\u201d item and police were notified.
\nHoward said it felt like her heart dropped, and she was worried the passenger might try to get the gun. It turns out the passenger was a very apologetic businessman who said he simply forgot. Howard says she understands travel can be stressful but that people have to take care when they\u2019re getting ready for a flight.
\n\u201cYou have to be alert and pay attention,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s your property.\u201d
\nAtlanta\u2019s airport, one of the world\u2019s busiest with roughly 85,000 people going through checkpoints on a busy day, had the most guns intercepted in 2022 \u2014 448 \u2014 but that number was actually lower than the year before. Robert Spinden, the TSA\u2019s top official in Atlanta, says the agency and the airport made a big effort in 2021 to try to address the large number of guns being intercepted at checkpoints.
\nAn incident in November 2021 reinforced the need for their efforts. A TSA officer noticed a suspected gun in a passenger\u2019s bag. When the officer opened the suitcase the man reached for the gun, and it went off. People ran for the exits, and the airport was shut down for 2 1\/2 hours, the airport\u2019s general manager Balram Bheodari said during a congressional hearing last year.
\nOfficials put in new signage to catch the attention of gun owners. A hologram over a checkpoint shows the image of a revolving blue gun with a red circle over the gun with a line through it. Numerous 70-inch television screens flash rotating messages that guns are not allowed.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s signage all over the airport. There is announcements, holograms, TVs. There\u2019s quite a bit of information that is sort of flashing before your eyes to just try to remind you as a last ditch effort that if you do own a firearm, do you know where it\u2019s at?\u201d Spinden said.
\nMiami\u2019s airport also worked to get gunowners\u2019 attention. The airport\u2019s director told Congress last year that after setting a gun interception record in 2021 they installed high-visibility signage and worked with airlines to warn passengers. He said the number of firearms intercepted declined sharply.
\nPekoske said signage is only part of the solution. Travelers face a barrage of signs or announcements already and don\u2019t always pay attention. He also supports gradually raising penalties to grab people\u2019s attention.
\nBut Aidan Johnston, from the gun advocacy group Gun Owners of America, said he\u2019d like to see the fines lessened, saying they\u2019re not a deterrent. While he\u2019d like to see more education for new gun owners, he also doesn\u2019t think of this as a \u201cmajor heinous crime.\u201d
\n\u201cThese are not bad people that are in dire need of punishment,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are people who made a mistake.\u201d
\nOfficials believe they\u2019re catching the vast majority, but with 730 million passengers screened last year even a miniscule percentage getting through is a concern.
\nLast month, musician Cliff Waddell was traveling from Nashville, Tennessee, to Raleigh, North Carolina, when he was stopped at the checkpoint. A TSA officer had seen a gun in his bag. Waddell was so shocked he initially said it couldn\u2019t be his because he\u2019d just flown the day before with the same bag. It turned out the gun had been in his bag but missed at the screening. TSA acknowledged the miss, and Pekoske says they\u2019re investigating.
\nWhen trying to figure out how the gun he keeps locked in his glove compartment got in his bookbag, Waddell realized he\u2019d taken it out when he took the vehicle in for repairs. Waddell said he recognizes it\u2019s his responsibility to know where his firearm is but worries about how TSA could have missed something so significant.
\n\u201cThat was a shock to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Apnews<\/p>\n
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