The TSA Set a Record for Loaded Weapons Caught Last Year

This handgun in a carry-on bag was confiscated by the TSA last year in Atlanta, which is where the most firearms were caught. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

The TSA makes headlines when it fails to detect a passenger carrying a gun onto a plane, but the agency is reporting catching a record number of firearms in airports last year.

According to newly released data, the TSA detected a record 2,653 firearms in carry-on bags in 2015 – 20 percent more than in 2014. And 82.8 percent of those firearms were loaded.

Where were the most firearms intercepted? At Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport, where the TSA found 153 of them. Then next most were found at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport (144), Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (100), Denver International (90), and Phoenix Sky Harbor (73).

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Bringing firearms onto a plane in a carry-on bag, loaded or otherwise, is prohibited. Travelers have to pack any guns into a checked bag, unloaded, and declare them to the airline.

The TSA had some other stats for 2015, as well. The agency reports screening 708 million passengers last year – a 40.7 million passenger increase from 2014. It also screened over 432 million checked bags and 1.6 billion carry-on bags.

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The TSA also says 98 percent of passengers waited in security lines for less than 20 minutes. Also, 99 percent of TSA PreCheck members waited less than five minutes.

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