TSA

A Transportation Security Administration worker screens luggage at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Sept. 26, 2017. The TSA says it found a record number of firearms at airport security checkpoints last year.

National

TSA found record number of firearms at airport checkpoints in 2023. Most were loaded

1:51pm January 11, 2024

by Diba Mohtasham

The number of firearms found at airport security checkpoints has reached an all-time high. Agency officials said the No. 1 reason passengers give is that they forgot they were carrying them.

Two men identified by authorities as hijackers Mohamed Atta (right) and Abdulaziz Alomari (center) pass through airport security on Sept. 11, 2001, at Portland International Jetport in Maine in an image from airport surveillance tape released on Sept. 19,

National

It Was Shoes On, No Boarding Pass Or ID. But Airport Security Forever Changed On 9/11

10:10am September 11, 2023

by David Schaper

No boarding pass or ID was needed to go to the gate, and 4-inch-blade knives were allowed aboard planes. Now we take off shoes, can't have liquids over 3.4 oz and go through high-tech body scanners.

A television displays a "no guns" sign at the Transportation Security Administration security area at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, in Atlanta. Last year saw a record number of guns intercepted at airport checkpoints across the country.

National

A record 6,542 guns — 18 a day — were intercepted at U.S. airport security in 2022

1:25am February 20, 2023

by The Associated Press

With the exception of pandemic-disrupted 2020, the number of weapons intercepted at U.S. airport checkpoints has climbed every year since 2010.

Passengers at O'Hare International Airport, in Chicago, wait in line to be screened at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint in 2016.

National

Ahead of the holidays, the cost for TSA PreCheck is dropping

4:32pm November 05, 2022

by Giulia Heyward

The bulk of TSA PreCheck passengers spent less than five minutes at security checkpoints.

Travelers wearing protective face masks wait in line at a Transportation Security Administration screening at LaGuardia Airport in New York last month. U.S. aviation regulators are calling on the nation's airports to crack down on the defiantly unmasked.

Health & Safety

TSA Is Doubling Fines For Those Who Refuse To Wear A Mask While Flying

1:42pm September 10, 2021

by Sharon Pruitt-Young

President Biden says, "If you break the rules, be prepared to pay." He calls the harassment aimed at airline employees over masks "wrong" and "ugly."

A line loops through security at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport as travelers return to the skies after mostly staying home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Banking On Busy Summer Travel Season, Airlines Add More Flights And New Routes

7:09am May 07, 2021

by David Schaper

Amid a sudden surge in demand for domestic travel, especially to beach destinations and national parks, decimated airlines are adding service to new markets as they try to inch back to profitability.

Queue Listen Now

TSA Extends Mask Mandate Aboard Flights Through Summer As Travel Increases

4:13pm May 01, 2021

by Elena Moore

Even as COVID-19 cases decrease and more Americans get vaccinated, the Transportation Security Administration is keeping strict regulations on wearing masks when traveling domestically.

TSA agents clearing passengers at Denver International Airport, June 2020. TSA found twice as many weapons on passengers per million in 2020 than they did the year prior.

National

2020 Firearm Catch Rate At Airports Doubled From Previous Year

4:54pm January 26, 2021

by Dustin Jones

TSA agents found 3,257 firearms in carry-on bags at airport security checkpoints in 2020 — about 10 per million travelers. About 83% of those firearms were loaded, a TSA news release said.

A Transportation Security Administration officer watches as travelers put their items through an X-ray machine in 2017 at Miami International Airport. The TSA says it's finding significantly more firearms in carry-on luggage despite a huge drop in air tra

National

'Alarming' Trend: TSA Intercepting Many More Guns Despite Far Fewer Air Travelers

6:34pm August 11, 2020

by Scott Neuman

The Transportation Security Administration says last month it found three times as many guns in carry-on luggage as the same period last year, even though air traffic is down 75% due to COVID-19.

Transportation Security Administration officers are finding guns in carry on bags at security checkpoints at a rate three times higher than they did last summer. And 80% of those guns are loaded.

TSA Finds 3 Times Usual Rate Of Guns At Checkpoints, Despite Drop In Air Traffic

5:30pm August 11, 2020

by David Schaper

While screening 75% fewer people at airports this summer than last, the security officers discover guns hidden in carry-on bags at a rate surpassing last summer. And 80% of those guns are loaded.