TSA says more flyers packing guns
Bush Intercontinental leads the state in confiscated firearms, with ‘I forgot’ among the top excuses when agents catch a passenger
Despite a drastic decrease in air travel because of the pandemic, the rate of passengers attempting to pass firearms illegally through airport security in Texas jumped 67 percent from 2019 to 2020, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
In 2019, TSA found 0.9 guns per 100,000 passengers at Texas airports. The following year, the agency found 1.9 guns per 100,000 people screened — an 82 percent increase during a time in which passenger traffic fell 57 percent, from 68 million in 2019 to 29.6 million in 2020.
George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston saw the highest-percentage increase last year at 122 percent. The rate rose from 0.85 guns in 2019 per 100,000 passengers among airports with at least 15 catches to 1.88 guns per 100,000 airline travelers in 2020. San Antonio International Airport saw the second-largest percentage increase in firearms confiscated at TSA checkpoints in the state during that time among airports with at least 15 catches.
Patricia Mancha, a spokeswoman for TSA’s Southwest region, said the most common excuses from passengers is “I forgot it was in my bag” or the firearm belongs to a relative.
Nationally, TSA officers detected twice as many firearms per million passengers screened at airport security checkpoints in 2020 compared to the previous year.
Mancha said it is unclear why the rate is increasing but noted that there has generally been an increase in gun sales since the start of the pandemic.
It is legal for passengers to transport firearms in checked luggage, according to the agency, but they can’t be loaded and must be stored in a locked, hard case and kept separate from ammunition.
A typical fine for a first offense for carrying a loaded handgun through a checkpoint is $4,100. Passengers can face civil penalties that can exceed $13,000. Fines are imposed regardless of whether an arrest is made.
The most guns found at individual Texas airports were at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where TSA agents found 176 and 126 guns, respectively.
Those airports frequently are ranked among the Top 10 nationally to have high rates of guns found, Mancha said.
Between 85 percent and 95 percent of guns found at airport checkpoints across the country are loaded, according to TSA.
As of August this year, airline travelers in San Antonio have attempted to bring 32 guns through TSA checkpoints, the agency said. Among them were three loaded ones: two handguns and a .357caliber revolver. In June, a passenger attempted to cross 14 boxes of long rifle bullets — 280 rounds — in a carry-on bag.
On Aug. 20, TSA nabbed three loaded handguns at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, bringing the total to 68 firearms that have been recovered at the airport this year.
From February to March, TSA officers at El Paso International Airport discovered six handguns in carry-on bags. All of them were loaded.
TSA agents have collected several other prohibited items this year as well, including stun guns disguised as iPhones and flashlights, a ninja star, mace, and knives disguised as hair combs.
And officials at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston recently discovered crystal meth concealed inside a breakfast burrito.