In July 2019, TSA agents confiscated just over five firearms in carry-on luggage for an average of every million air passengers passing through security checkpoints at the country’s airports.
This year, as you know, air travel of passengers in the United States has dropped sharply due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, TSA checked approximately 75 percent fewer passengers than the previous year. But three times more firearms were confiscated during checks – 15.3 barrels for the same number of examined travelers. Moreover, according to the TSA administrator David Pekoske, about 80 percent of the weapons that were found in hand luggage turned out to be loaded. Most of the firearms (27) were seized at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. At least a dozen pistols were seized at airports in Denver, Dallas and Nashville last July.