Rate of gun seizures at airports double despite travel downturn
With passenger traffic down to just a fraction of normal levels in 2020, it is no surprise TSA screeners discovered less guns at airports.
However the rate of gun seizures has surged.
The rate nearly doubled in 2020 to about 10 per million passengers, with a total of 3,257 firearms discovered.
The TSA said more than 80% were loaded.
In 2019 TSA officers found 4,432 guns at a rate of five per million passengers.
The agency says there were 500 million fewer air travelers last year compared to 2019.
"I commend our officers for their commitment to TSA’s security mission by identifying and stopping these weapons at the TSA checkpoints," said Senior Official Performing the Duties of TSA Administrator Darby LaJoye.
The airport with the highest number of guns seized was Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with 220, followed by Dallas Fort Worth with 176.
A number of theories have been suggested as to why the rate of seizures has surged.
Last year aviation security lecturer Jeffrey Price said the Covid-19 pandemic may have created an ‘apocalypse mindset’ or fewer passengers means TSA screeners have more time to screen each passenger more thoroughly.
Screeners ‘can take a lot more time with each person and their belongings,’ Price said.
This perhaps suggests possibly hundreds of firearms are being missed at airport screening during normal passenger levels.
Written by Ray Montgomery, US Editor
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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