The TSA seized a record number of guns in SC in 2022. Here are how many were found at each airport
A record number of people attempted to bring weapons on board the nation’s airlines in 2022, the Transportation Security Administration reported.
Of the 6,301 firearms seized, the weapon was loaded 5,544 times or 88%.
The previous record was in 2021 when officers found 5,972 firearms. The TSA report was through mid-December. They anticipate 6,600 firearms would be found in carry-on bags by year’s end.
South Carolina airports also set a record for guns seized at 79. From 2018 to 2022, the number of seizures increased by 50%.
In 2022, Charleston International, TSA seized 32, Greenville-Spartanburg International 21, Columbia Metropolitan Airport 15, Myrtle Beach International 10, Florence Regional 1 and Hilton Head Island 0.
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta reported the most seizures at 448., followed by Dallas-Fort Worth International, 385, and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental, 298.
All firearms are banned in carry-on luggage, even if the owner has a concealed weapons permit, TSA said in a news release. The maximum penalty if a gun is found is $14,950, and the guns are confiscated. The gun owner also could be arrested depending on location.
During the busy Thanksgiving travel week last year, a man was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey with a 9mm handgun loaded with 13 bullets, including one in the chamber, NBC News reported.
It was the 14th time someone was caught trying to get a gun on a plane at Newark in 2022.
Among those found with a gun in their carry on bag in 2022 was then-U.S. Representative Madison Cawthorn, the second time in a little more than a year that he had been found with a gun at an airport.
Cawthorn was defeated in the North Carolina Republican primary in May.
Guns seized are destroyed, kept as evidence for court trials, auctioned on eBay, or sold at a state surplus warehouse store, TSA said..
Firearms may be transported in checked bags if they are unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided container and declared to the airline at check-in.
Also prohibited in carry-on luggage airplanes are Aerosol Insecticide, several kinds of lighters, alcohol over 140 proof like Everclear, and axes and knives Many of those items are allowed in cargo.
The TSA has a list of allowed items including air mattresses with built-in pumps, airbrush make-up machine, Alcoholic beverages, and many, many more.
TSA says yes to antlers, artificial skeleton bones and basketballs as being allowed on board and in checked luggage.
Passengers who don’t find an item on the extensive list may snap a picture or send a question to AskTSA on Facebook Messenger or Twitter from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET weekdays; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends/holidays.