Over 1,500 Firearms Found By Airport Screeners In 2012

Over 1,500 Firearms Found By Airport Screeners In 2012

David Castelveter, a TSA spokesman, revealed that over 1,500 firearms were found by screeners at checkpoints in airports last year.

The figure is higher compared to the 1,320 firearms discovered in 2011. A number of the weapons were loaded, while others already had a chambered round. Castelveter said it was assumed that most of the weapons discovered were from people who were either unaware that the weapons were in the bag or they did not know that the weapon could not be carried on the airplane.

As of November 2012, eighty firearms were discovered at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Seventy-five firearms were discovered at the Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport while fifty were found at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Rounding off the top five airports where firearms were found are the George Bush Intercontinental Airport with forty-eight and the Denver International Airport with thirty six.

It remained uncertain whether the improvements in the screening procedures were the reason for the increase of discovered firearms or there were more people carrying them at the airports.

If a firearm is discovered at an airport security checkpoint, the local police is called in to check the whether the weapon can be legally carried by the passenger or if it will be confiscated. If the documents are in order, the weapon is returned to the passenger, who should bring it back to the car before the passenger can board the plane.

Firearms can be placed inside a locked, hard container and must be inside checked baggage. The firearm should not be loaded and declared to the airline company. The local gun laws should also be followed by the passenger.

Aside from firearms and ammunition, replicas and components cannot be placed inside carry-on bags.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Thursday January 03 2013, 8:18 AM EST. Ref: CNN. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0