WASHINGTON DC - TSA officers have found a record number of firearms at airport security checkpoints in 2021, with two and a half months to go before the end of the year and fewer travelers, officials announced.Transportation Security Administration officers stopped 4,495 passengers from taking their firearms onto fights, breaking the previous record of 4,432 firearms found for the entire calendar year of 2019.
Officers reported finding 11 firearms in carry-on bags at security checkpoints per million passengers in 2021. In 2019, officers found five firearms per million passengers.Passengers can travel with firearms in checked baggage, though possession laws vary by state and local governments.