Revealed, shocking weapons haul seized at airports

MORE than 1, 00 weapons have been seized in the past two and a half years at Scotland’s two biggest airports.

The huge haul taken from passengers includes guns, smoke grenades and swords.

The weapons were seized at Glasgow Airport and Edinburgh Airport between January 2016 and last month while passengers and their luggage were going through security search areas.

Six ‘firearms’ were found at Edinburgh but the most common illegal items taken into airports were knives.

In 2016 Glasgow Airport removed 207 ‘lock knives’ from passengers while last year that increased to 264. In Edinburgh Airport there were 468 lock knives seized in 2016, rising to 498 in 2017. Knuckledusters and ‘credit card knives’ were the next most common weapons.

It is understood some of the weapons were unwittingly being brought through the airports by tourists returning home with souvenirs.

The figures show that August was the busiest month, with 99 weapons taken last year at Edinburgh Airport.

At Glasgow Airport, 43 weapons were seized by officers in July last year. Overall, 1, 23 weapons were seized by officers at the two airports.

An Edinburgh Airport spokesman for said: ‘Our teams are trained and motivated to ensure the best passenger safety possible.’

A Glasgow Airport spokesman said: ‘We would remind passengers that it is an offence to carry knives with blades longer than 6cm as hold luggage.’

Inspector Mark Stirling of Police Scotland Border Policing Command said: ‘Occasionally there are attempts to travel with a dangerous object. Police officers work with airport security to dispose of these weapons and ensure no criminality has taken place.’

‘Trained to ensure passenger safety’