TSA at Philadelphia International Airport sets record for most guns detected at checkpoints

PHILADELPHIA - During 2023, TSA officers at Philadelphia International prevented 45 guns from being carried onto planes by passengers, which surpassed the previous record of 44 guns caught, which was set in 2022. Eighty-nine percent of those guns were loaded.

Philadelphia was part of the national trend in an increase in firearms detected. Last year, TSA officers across the country intercepted a total of 6,737 guns at airport security checkpoints, preventing them from getting into the secure areas of the airport and onboard aircraft. This total surpassed the previous year’s record of 6,542 firearms stopped at checkpoints and represents the highest one-year total in TSA’s history. Ninety-three percent of guns caught nationwide were loaded.

This is not the type of record that TSA is looking to set. TSA would much rather see fewer travelers bring their guns to checkpoints.

“We are seeing far too many firearms at our checkpoints, and what’s particularly concerning is the amount of them that are loaded, presenting an unnecessary risk to everyone at the TSA checkpoint,” said Gerardo Spero, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport.

Firearms and ammunition are strictly prohibited in carry-on baggage. Passengers are only allowed to travel with an unloaded firearm, and only if they pack it properly in a locked, hard-sided case in their checked baggage and first declare it to the airline at the check-in counter.

When a firearm is detected at a security checkpoint, TSA officers immediately stop the checkpoint conveyor belt. The lane comes to a standstill. Officers contact local law enforcement, who come to the checkpoint, remove the carry-on bag from the X-ray unit and then remove the passenger and the carry-on bag containing the firearm from the checkpoint area.

Typically, the police confiscate the guns caught at checkpoints and they may arrest or criminally cite the traveler. TSA does not confiscate firearms.

In addition to any action taken by law enforcement, TSA fines passengers who bring a firearm to a TSA checkpoint by issuing a Federal civil penalty up to approximately $15,000.

If the traveler is enrolled in the TSA PreCheck® program, they are removed from TSA PreCheck eligibility and are flagged to receive enhanced screening to ensure there are no other threats present.

Passengers may transport their firearms for a flight if packed properly. To do so, the gun must be unloaded, placed in a hard-sided case and then locked inside the case. Next, it should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared. The airline will ask that a small card be filled out and then the airline will make sure that the firearm is transported in the belly of the plane where nobody has access to it during a flight.

Unsure if an item should be packed in a carry-on bag, checked bag, either or neither? We can certainly help you with that information before you leave home.

Download the free myTSA app, which has a handy “What can I bring?” feature that allows you to type in the item to find out if it can fly. Or ask on Twitter or Facebook Messenger at @AskTSA. Travelers may send a question by texting “Travel” to AskTSA (275-872).

Firearms caught at TSA checkpoints at Philadelphia International Airport, 2017 to 2024