TSA says it recovered record number of firearms at checkpoints in 2022

Nearly nine out of 10 were loaded, agency says.

Published: December 17, 2022 5:02pm

Updated: December 17, 2022 5:45pm

The Transportation Security Administration this week said it had received a record-breaking number of firearms at agency checkpoints in 2022, the overwhelming majority of which were loaded.

The agency said in a press release that as of Friday of this week it had stopped 6,301 firearms at administration checkpoints, “more than 88% [of which] were loaded.”

“This number surpasses the previous record of 5,972 firearms detected in 2021,” the press release said, adding that the agency “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.”

Firearms “are never allowed in carry-on bags at any TSA security checkpoint, even if a passenger has a concealed weapon permit,” the TSA noted in the release.

The agency said it had increased “the maximum civil penalty for a firearms violation to $14,950” in an order to further deter people from carrying guns onto planes.