Let’s fly the gun-free skies.
Travelers tried slipping more than 6,600 guns past Transportation Security Administration agents last year — with 41 of those firearms found in carry-ons of those passing through LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty International airports.
Ten loaded guns were discovered inside bags screened at both JFK and LaGuardia while a record 21 guns were detected at security checkpoints at Newark Liberty, according to the TSA data.
“The TSA team at Newark set a record for the most guns intercepted at our checkpoints in a single year,” said Thomas Carter, TSA’s security director for New Jersey. “It is not a record that we seek to set. We would much rather see fewer people bring their guns to our checkpoints.”
At JFK, “we saw a decrease in the number of firearms that people brought to our checkpoints from 15 guns in 2023 to 10 in 2024,” said John Essig, TSA’s security director for JFK. “We see that as a positive sign that more travelers who want to transport their firearms are doing so properly.”
The 41 guns is down from 48 last year.
Year-end figures released by the TSA showed 6,678 firearms were identified at airport checkpoints nationwide during 2024 — a slight decrease from the 6,737 found in 2023.
Agents at 277 U.S. airports caught people with firearms in their bags, and approximately 94 percent of those guns were found loaded, the TSA said.
Even with a concealed weapon permit, firearms aren’t allowed on airplanes. Permitted travelers can travel legally with their firearms so long as its in their checked bags in the cargo hold.
