WASHINGTON — Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have intercepted a record number of firearms brought by passengers to airport security checkpoints in 2022. As of December 16, TSA has stopped 6,301 firearms; more than 88% were loaded. This number surpasses the previous record of 5,972 firearms detected in 2021. TSA anticipates it will prevent about 6,600 firearms in carry-on bags from entering the secure area of airports by the end of 2022, a nearly 10% increase over 2021’s record level.
Firearm possession laws vary by state and local government, but firearms are never allowed in carry-on bags at any TSA security checkpoint, even if a passenger has a concealed weapon permit. In order to reduce the threat of firearms at checkpoints, TSA has increased the maximum civil penalty for a firearms violation to $14,950. TSA determines the penalty amount for a violation based the circumstances in each case. TSA will continue to revoke TSA PreCheck® eligibility for at least five years for passengers caught with a firearm in their carry-on bags. TSA may conduct enhanced screening for those passengers to ensure no other threats are present. Depending on state or local law in the airport’s location, passengers who bring firearms to a checkpoint may be arrested by law enforcement.
The full text of the TSA Press Release is available at the link below.