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US Transportation Security Administration said at least 6 thousand guns were found in carry-on luggage at checkpoints nationwide in 2021, breaking a record set just 2 years earlier. Moreover, 5,972 guns intercepted at US airports last year represent a 35% increase, or more than 1,500 more weapons, compared with 2019. The agency also reported that 86% of those firearms were loaded. It presents a significant health, safety, and security concern for the US administration. The disturbing trend came in a year when millions of Americans returned to air travel after COVID-19 nearly brought it to a halt. TSA workers screened more than 585 million passengers at airport checkpoints in 2021. US officials are worried about the alarming record even as travel remains below pre-pandemic levels.

TSA Administrator David Pekoske said, “What’s causing it? I don’t know exactly, but generally I think our weapons carriage detections reflect just more people carrying weapons in the country”. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson was at the top of the TSA list, with 507 guns detected in 2021, up from 323 in 2019. The suspect reached in and accidentally discharged the weapon when a gun was discovered by a TSA officer there last November, causing chaos at the world’s busiest airport. Pekoske said, “That illustrates why loaded weapons are so dangerous because it’s very easy to discharge those weapons. When that passenger lunged for the bag, he discharged that firearm into the checkpoint”. The National Shooting Sports Foundation said that gun sales are up nationwide.

More than 8.4 million people bought a gun for the first time in 2020 and a record 21 million background checks were conducted, compared to 13.2 million in 2019. The director of the Foundation, Mark Oliva said travelers can take a gun onto a plane, but only safely and securely as checked luggage. He said, “For those who do choose to travel with their firearms, understand that it is possible and there’s a way to do that. Make sure that you secure that firearm, either in the proper travel bags that you can have or that you can go through TSA with, or you make sure it’s locked up before you even leave the home”. Pekoske warned that taking a gun to a checkpoint could cost you.