TSA Intercepted 6,678 Firearms at Airport Checkpoints in 2024
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has revealed that during 2024 it intercepted a total of 6,678 firearms at airport security checkpoints. The agency says that approximately 94% of these firearms were loaded.
Throughout 2024, TSA managed its “Prepare, Pack, Declare” public awareness campaign to explain the steps for safely traveling with a firearm. But it resulted only in a minor decrease from the 6,737 firearms stopped in 2023.
In 2024, TSA screened more than 904 million people, meaning the agency intercepted 7.4 firearms per million people, a decrease from 7.8 firearms per million people in 2023.
|
Total passengers screened |
Total number of firearms |
Average number of firearms per day |
Percentage loaded |
Rate per million passengers |
|
|
2024 |
904 million |
6,678 |
18.2 |
94 % |
7.4 |
|
2023 |
858 million |
6,737 |
18.4 |
93 % |
7.8 |
When a firearm is detected at a security checkpoint, a TSO immediately contacts local law enforcement, who will remove the individual and the firearm from the checkpoint area. Depending on local laws, the law enforcement officer may arrest or cite the individual.
In addition to any action taken by law enforcement, individuals who bring a firearm to a TSA checkpoint face a maximum civil penalty of $14,950, will have their TSA PreCheck® eligibility revoked for at least five years and will undergo enhanced screening to ensure there are no other threats present, which takes up additional time.
For more information on how to properly travel with a firearm, visit the transporting firearms and ammunition page on TSA.gov. You can also view the complete list of penalties on TSA.gov.
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