TSA reports finding loaded guns in carry-on luggage at MHT twice in one week

Paul Feely, The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester
·2 min read

Aug. 17—Transportation Security Administration officers prevented loaded guns from being carried by passengers onto aircraft at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport twice last week, the third and fourth such incidents this year, officials said.

On Sunday morning, Aug. 8, a TSA officer detected a loaded .380 caliber handgun and a magazine containing six rounds in a male passenger's backpack. Londonderry police responded and escorted the man to his vehicle to secure the firearm.

Later that same week, on Friday, Aug. 13, a TSA officer found a loaded .22 caliber pistol and 10 rounds — with one chambered — in a man's carry-on bag. Londonderry police responded, cleared the gun and escorted the man to his vehicle to secure the gun.

"Our TSA officers continue to do a fantastic job preventing firearms from entering the secure area of the airport," said Robert Krekorian, TSA's Federal Security Director for New Hampshire. "Passengers who are traveling with firearms must ensure they are properly packed in their checked baggage. When an individual shows up at a checkpoint with a firearm, it can slow or shut down security screening until the police resolve the incident."

The Aug. 13 incident marked the fourth time TSA agents have found a firearm at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) so far this year.

TSA agents caught two firearms at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in 2020, one in 2019, and four in 2018, according to Daniel Velez, a regional spokesman for the TSA.

TSA agents found more than 50 pounds of ammunition in a checked bag leaving Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in January.

"Passengers must remember they're responsible for the contents of their bags, and our advice is they thoroughly inspect all personal carry-on bags to ensure there are no illegal or prohibited items with them," Krekorian said.

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter. Guns are not permitted to be carried onto planes.

Checked firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked and packed separately from ammunition.

Nationwide, TSA officers detected 3,257 firearms on passengers or in their carry-on bags at checkpoints last year, though the total number of passengers screened at airport checkpoints across the country fell by 500 million from 2019 because of the pandemic.

The result was that twice as many firearms per million passengers screened were detected at checkpoints in 2020, compared to 2019.

Of the guns detected by TSA in 2020, more than three-quarters were loaded.