The U.S. Transportation Security Administration intercepted 6,542 guns last year at airport checkpoints across the country -- an all-time high.
A sign advises airline travellers not to bring their firearm through the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint on, July 28, 2022, during a media event about travelling with firearms at the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport in Brownsville, Texas. The woman flying out of Philadelphia's 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 .
Guns 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.
Those federal fines are the TSA's 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 -- it allows them to bypass some types of screening -- 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.
An incident in November 2021 reinforced the need for their efforts. A TSA officer noticed a suspected gun in a passenger's 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's general manager Balram Bheodari said during a congressional hearing last year.
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