Fewer passengers, but more are packing

The Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday it detected twice as many firearms per million passengers at airport

security checkpoints in 2020 than in 2019.

The agency announced it found about 10 firearms per million passengers screened last year compared with about five firearms per million passengers screened a year earlier.

Though the number of firearms found decreased — 3,257 in 2020 compared with a record 4,432 in 2019 — the rate per passenger was the highest since the agency was founded in 2001. About 83 percent of the firearms found were loaded, the TSA said in a statement.

The increased rate came during a year that saw a substantial drop in air travel amid the pandemic.

Firearms were found at more than 230 airports, the agency said. Two Texas airports were among the top 10: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport with 176 firearms found, and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport with 126 found.

• Southwest Airlines said that starting March 1, it will let passengers bring trained service dogs in the cabin, but it will no longer accept emotional support animals. Customers who want to bring a dog or cat on board as a pet will have to pay a fee, and the animal must be kept in a carrier that fits under an airplane seat. Southwest is the last of the nation’s six largest airlines to change its animal policy.

• Delta Air Lines is bringing 400 pilots back to active status by summer in anticipation of a recovery in travel as the COVID-19 vaccine is distributed.