'It Is Very Troubling': Firearm Confiscations Spike at Airports Despite Plunge in Passenger Traffic

Aug. 10--The U.S. Transportation Security Administration calls it particularly alarming -- not the number of people arriving at airports without masks, but those who are showing up packing heat in their carry-ons.

Last month, TSA officers discovered firearms in carry-ons at a rate three times higher than in July 2019. And that's despite the fact that it screened 75% fewer travelers than a year ago.

"Even more concerning is that 80% of the firearms coming into the checkpoint are loaded and it's just an accident waiting to happen," TSA administrator David Pekoske said in a statement Monday.

According to the Transportation Security Administration, officers found 15.3 guns per million people screened last month compared to 5.1 guns per million travelers screened in July 2019.

Only one gun was discovered at the Pittsburgh International Airport last month. But August is not off to a very good start.

Over three days last week, TSA officers caught two people with loaded handguns in their carry-ons. The first occurred last Tuesday when officers detected a handgun loaded with six bullets in the carry-on of a Connellsville man.

On Friday, it confiscated a 9 mm handgun loaded with five bullets in the carry-on bag of a West Newton man.

So far this year, officers have snagged 10 firearms at the Pittsburgh checkpoint, compared to 35 for all of 2019.

Nationwide, the TSA is particularly concerned about the number of handguns confiscated given the dramatic drops in passenger traffic because of the pandemic. "It is very troubling," spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said.

Travelers who are caught at the checkpoint packing heat can face hefty penalties.

The recommended federal civil penalty starts at $2,050 for an unloaded firearm and $4,100 for a loaded one. It can jump to more than $10,250, depending on the circumstances.

In addition, travelers who are caught can have their trusted traveler status and TSA PreCheck expedited screening benefits revoked.

"TSA is diligently working to ensure our employees and passengers are safe and secure while traveling during a pandemic, and yet we are noticing a significant increase in loaded firearms coming into checkpoints," Mr. Pekoske said.

"Travelers must understand that firearms are prohibited items at airports and in the passenger cabins of aircraft. As hard as we are working to mitigate other risks at this time, no one should be introducing new ones."

The TSA gave no explanation as to why the confiscations have spiked.

A recent Brookings Institution study estimated that almost 3 million more firearms have been sold from March-June than ordinarily would have been purchased during those months.

It attributed the spike to the COVID-19 crisis and the social unrest following George Floyd's killing.

The study found that past jumps occurred after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the San Bernardino, Calif., terrorist attack and the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting.

Those sales increases were driven mainly by people concerned about restrictions to their access to firearms, according to the report. However, it suggested that the 2020 spike had more to do with personal safety.

"In March, concerns about personal safety arose from both a deadly new virus and an economy in free fall," the report stated. "By June, concerns about the virus and the economy remained, and were compounded by new evidence of racial injustice in policing, widespread protests and discussions of defunding the police."

Last year, TSA officers nationwide confiscated 4,432 firearms at airport checkpoints, averaging about 12.1 guns a day. That amounted to a 5% increase over 2018.

Mark Belko: [email protected] or 412-263-1262.

First Published August 10, 2020, 2:12pm

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