On Thursday, Feb. 7, it was reported that in 2018, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) confiscated close to 4,200 guns at airports nationwide.
According to the TSA's 2018 Year in Review, the agency seized a total of 4,239 guns at 249 different airports across the country. This averages out to close to 12 guns a day and is seven percent increase from the amount found in 2017. Of the nearly 250 facilities where a firearm was found, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport topped the list for the second year in a row with Dallas/Fort Worth and Phoenix Sky Harbor rounding out the top three. The total number of guns found at airports has risen significantly in the last decade with reports claiming the amount of seized firearms found in 2018 is four-times that of 2008.
With most of the passengers claiming they brought their firearms with them to the airport by mistake, the TSA urges passengers to double check their luggage before leaving the house. Although the federal law does allow one to transport a loaded gun in a “hard-side container,” these bags must be check and the passenger must "declare all firearms each time you present it for transport as checked baggage." If this is not obliged, then the rider could be subjected to various penalties including prison.
