TSA shows proper way to pack, travel with gun as more weapons are confiscated

LAKE MARY, Fla. - Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers confiscated more than 5,700 firearms at airport security checkpoints this year, the most in the agency's 20-year history.

More than 85% of the firearms that were stopped at checkpoints across the nation were loaded, according to the TSA.

So far this year, 659 people tried to get a gun through security at Florida's airports. That's the highest number ever across the state and 121 of those were reported at Orlando International Airport, as of Wednesday.   That's just shy of the 2018 record of 123.

If passengers are caught with a firearm at checkpoints, they can be fined upward of $13,900, according to the agency. Additionally, if a passenger is a TSA PreCheck member, their membership benefits can be suspended.

The agency said in certain cases, authorities will arrest the passenger for being in possession of a firearm at a security checkpoint.

Passengers are allowed to "transport unloaded firearms in a locked hard-sided container as checked baggage only," according to the TSA.  

Canadian authorities said a 48-year-old Florida woman was arrested after she tried to smuggle 56 guns into Canada earlier this month.

FILE - TSA agents work at a security checkpoint at the Ronald Reagan National Airport on July 22, 2020.

Firearms

• When traveling, comply with the laws concerning possession of firearms as they vary by local, state, and international governments.
• If you are traveling internationally with a firearm in checked baggage, please check the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website for information and requirements prior to travel.
• Declare each firearm each time you present it for transport as checked baggage. Ask your airline about limitations or fees that may apply.
• Firearms must be unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container and transported as checked baggage only. As defined by 49 CFR 1540.5 a loaded firearm has a live round of ammunition, or any component thereof, in the chamber or cylinder or in a magazine inserted in the firearm. Only the passenger should retain the key or combination to the lock unless TSA personnel request the key to open the firearm container to ensure compliance with TSA regulations. You may use any brand or type of lock to secure your firearm case, including TSA-recognized locks.
• Bringing an unloaded firearm with accessible ammunition to the security checkpoint carries the same civil penalty/fine as bringing a loaded firearm to the checkpoint. You may find information on civil penalties at the Civil Enforcement page.
• Firearm parts, including magazines, clips, bolts and firing pins, are prohibited in carry-on baggage but may be transported in checked baggage.
• Replica firearms, including firearm replicas that are toys, may be transported in checked baggage only.
• Rifle scopes are permitted in carry-on and checked baggage.

Ammunition

• Ammunition is prohibited in carry-on baggage but may be transported in checked baggage.
• Firearm magazines and ammunition clips, whether loaded or empty, must be securely boxed or included within a hard-sided case containing an unloaded firearm. Read the requirements governing the transport of ammunition in checked baggage as defined by 49 CFR 175.10 (a)(8).
• Small arms ammunition (up to .75 caliber and shotgun shells of any gauge) must be packaged in a fiber (such as cardboard), wood, plastic, or metal box specifically designed to carry ammunition and declared to your airline.
• Ammunition may be transported in the same hard-sided, locked case as a firearm if it has been packed as described above. You cannot use firearm magazines or clips for packing ammunition unless they completely enclose the ammunition. Firearm magazines and ammunition clips, whether loaded or empty, must be boxed or included within a hard-sided, locked case.
• Please check with your airline for quantity limits for ammunition.

TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.