Earlier this week, a 52-year-old man tried to pass through a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoint at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) with a loaded assault rifle and 163 rounds of ammunition in his carry-on bag.
On February 14, as the unnamed traveler readying to board a flight to Houston, TSA checkpoint agents found the assault rifle-later identified as a Palmetto PA-15 Multi AR firearm-already loaded with 30 rounds of .300 caliber ammunition and bundled into a carry-on bag along with five more loaded magazines. The man in question now faces a federal civil penalty of up to $15,000.
And, the story gets worse. It turns out that this incident wasn't even the first of a passenger attempting to slip through security with a gun that same day, as TSA agents told KLFY that a Glock (also loaded) had been seized from someone's carry-on earlier.
As of February 9, TSA officers had sniffed out more than 700 firearms at airport security checkpoints nationwide, 92 percent of which were loaded, agency spokesperson Robert Langston told USA Today.
Less than two months into 2023, the U.S. is seeing a rise in incidents of passengers trying to sneak guns of all sorts through airport checkpoints. Late last year, after witnessing a record number of firearms violations (88 percent of them loaded), the TSA raised the penalty amount for travelers attempting to take guns or gun parts, such as clips or magazines, through checkpoints to just shy of $15,000.
"TSA is still seeing far too many firearms at airport checkpoints," Langston said. "Firearms do not belong in the secure area of airports or in the passenger cabins of airplanes. They represent an unnecessary risk at the TSA checkpoint, and failing to properly check and declare a firearm can be an expensive mistake."
"Threat detection is our mission and our dedicated workforce is protecting the traveling public every day," said TSA Federal Security Director Arden Hudson. "Passengers need to focus on what is inside their carry-ons before entering our checkpoint. The introduction of a loaded weapon poses an unnecessary risk to both the traveling public and our employees."
Last year, the TSA seized a total of 90 guns from passengers' carry-on luggage at MSY alone; while, in 2021, the agency waylaid 119 such concealed firearms, putting the New Orleans airport among the top 10 in the country for "passengers violating federal law by bringing a firearm to the security checkpoint".
"If you are going to travel with your gun it must be in your checked bag, but be sure you know exactly what the gun laws are on each side of your trip," Hudson said. "Guns may not be legal to transport even in checked baggage in some jurisdictions."
Details on the protocols and restrictions that passengers must follow in order to safely and legally transport firearms when flying can be found on the TSA's website.
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