CLEVELAND — The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has released its figures for the number of firearms stopped at airport checkpoints in 2023. Ohio's two major airports both saw increases in handguns seized over the previous year.
The TSA says its officers stopped 38 handguns at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport's security checkpoint in 2023, a slight increase from the 35 that were detected in the previous year. A record-high total of 55 firearms were intercepted at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, well above the 40 that were stopped in 2022.
"Responsible gun owners know where their guns are and they know not to bring them to a checkpoint,” Ohio TSA Federal Security Director Don Barker said. “We urge passengers to start with an empty bag so you know with certainty that there is nothing prohibited inside. Bringing a firearm to the checkpoint is a careless, dangerous mistake that passengers can easily avoid.”
According to TSA data, Cleveland passengers brought guns to Hopkins Airport at rates below the national average. At CLE, TSA screened nearly 5.3 million departing passengers and crew in 2023, discovering firearms in carry-on luggage at a rate of 7.2 firearms per million passengers screened. This calculates to a rate of one firearm discovered for every 138,800 travelers screened.
Nationally, the TSA stopped a total 6,737 firearms at airport security checkpoints, preventing them from getting into the secure areas of the airport and onboard aircraft. That figure represents the highest one-year total in the agency's history. Approximately 93% of those stopped handguns were loaded. The TSA says it detected one firearm for every 127,447 passengers screened nationwide.
In 2022, 6,542 firearms were stopped at airport checkpoints across the country.
A total of three firearms were caught by the TSA at Akron-Canton Airport in 2023, one more than the previous year. Eight handguns were stopped at Dayton International Airport, down from 13 in 2022. Three firearms were also discovered at Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, one more than in 2022.
The TSA says when a firearm is detected at a security checkpoint, officers immediately contact local law enforcement, who remove the passenger and the firearm from the checkpoint area. Depending on local laws, the law enforcement officer may arrest or cite the passenger. TSA says it does not confiscate firearms.
In addition to law enforcement action, TSA fines passengers who bring a firearm to a TSA checkpoint with a civil penalty up to about $15,000, revokes TSA PreCheck® eligibility for at least five years and may conduct enhanced screening to ensure there are no other threats present.
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are unloaded, packed separately from ammunition in a locked hardback case and declared at the airline check-in counter. Click here for more on how to properly travel with a firearm.
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