Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport ranks second among airports nationwide for the number of firearms authorities have discovered in carry-on bags this calendar year at 90, a new federal report shows.
Federal Transportation Security Administration officials say they found 111 at the Atlanta airport during all of last year. And most of those guns were loaded.
Dallas/Forth Worth International ranks first this year at 104. Phoenix Sky Harbor International is in third place at 66 followed by Houston George Bush Intercontinental at 62 and Denver International at 61.
Nationwide, TSA officials have identified a record number of firearms in carry-on bags this year at 1,855. Of those, nearly 80 percent were loaded. They found 42 fewer guns during all of last year.
When authorities spot firearms in carry-on bags, an alarm is sounded and local police take the travelers and guns out of the screening area.
“That’s for safety because about 90 percent of the firearms we are finding are loaded,” said Mark Howell, a TSA spokesman. “And they make a determination then on what they are going to do, if they are going to arrest the passenger, if they are going to cite them and if they are allowed to continue traveling.”
TSA can also fine these passengers up to $11,000.
Travelers can pack unloaded firearms in their checked baggage so long as they place the guns in hard-sided, locked containers and declare the weapons during check-in time. Find instructions here.
“We are not trying to infringe on anybody’s right to take a firearm with them,” Howell said “We just want to make sure they do it the right way and that is having it in the checked bag.”
About the Author
