Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents intercepted 6,678 firearms at airport security checkpoints across the United States in 2024, preventing them from being carried onto planes, the agency announced in a recent report. Nearly all of the confiscated weapons—94 percent—were loaded.
While firearm seizures declined slightly from 2023, the difference was minimal, with about 60 fewer guns detected in 2024. TSA agents screened a record 903 million passengers last year, up from 858 million in 2023. Despite the increase in travelers, the firearm detection rate dropped slightly, with 7.4 guns intercepted per million passengers, compared to 7.8 the year prior.
At Newark Liberty International Airport, TSA agents detected 21 firearms in 2024, while one was confiscated at Atlantic City International Airport, according to TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein. One particularly alarming discovery at Newark made the TSA’s top 10 “most unusual finds” of the year— a disassembled gun hidden inside a boot and a box of Lego blocks in October. Authorities said the firearm’s slide, spring, and a loaded magazine containing 12 bullets were concealed among the plastic toy pieces.
Nationally, the airports with the highest number of firearm seizures were Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (440), Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (390), and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston (272).
Although TSA agents are responsible for detecting firearms, Farbstein clarified that local law enforcement officers confiscate the weapons once they are identified at checkpoints.
The TSA reminds travelers that firearms can be transported on commercial flights, but only if they are unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided case, and declared to the airline. Guns must be stored in checked baggage and never carried into the passenger cabin.