TSA finds record 2653 guns at checkpoints

“Inert IED training aids are never permitted in carry-on or checked bags”, the TSA said in a blog detailing its 2015 record.

In addition to intercepting a record number of firearms, Neffenger said TSA continued to enhance its security protocols in 2015 through the use of state-of-the-art technologies, improved passenger identification techniques, and best practices to strengthen transportation security across all modes of transportation.

Neffenger’s predecessor, acting TSA Administrator Melvin Carraway, was reassigned in June after an internal investigation by the Department of Homeland Security found screening failures at dozens of the nation’s busiest airports, including missed weapons, fake explosives and other contraband.

The previous record was set in 2014, when 2,212 firearms were intercepted.

Of the 2,653 firearms discovered, 2,198, or 82.8 percent, were loaded. The agency said the guns were confiscated at 236 airports, which is 12 more airports than then number that had incidents in 2014.

TSA rules prohibit passengers from carrying guns in their carry-on luggage. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was second with 144. Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport: 100 4. Under the agency’s rules, firearms must be packed into checked luggage and unloaded.

In 2015, TSA screened over 708 million passengers – more than 1.9 million a day.

Travelers who bring firearms or ammunition to checkpoints are subject to civil fines from TSA and possible criminal penalties from local police.