TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Final numbers presented by the Transportation Security Administration show that three Florida airports are again in the top 10 for most firearms found in carry-on luggage. Year-to-date, TSA has already intercepted more than 30 guns going through security at Florida airports.
According to TSA, agents stopped “854 guns across the state of Florida at our federal security checkpoints in 2022.” In 2021, 666 were seized.
The airports in Florida that made the list were Tampa International, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, and Orlando International Airport. According to the TSA, more than 6,500 firearms were stopped at federalized airport checkpoints.
Nationally, 88% of the firearms found were loaded, which is against safety regulations for travel.
In the three Florida airports that rose to the top 10 for the U.S., in 2022, there were more than 400.
- TPA: 131 firearms
- FLL: 134 firearms
- MCO: 162 firearms
TSA told WFLA.com that the increase from 2021 to 2022 for the number of firearms seized at Florida airports was 28%, and that not even a month into the new year, they’d already stopped 33 guns in Florida. The TSA Gulf region spokesperson described this as “disturbing and dangerous.”
According to TSA, seven guns have been intercepted at TPA, three at St. Pete-Clearwater International, and two at Sarasota Bradenton International. Nationally and in Florida, TSA said the number of firearm intercepts were both records.
It is important to note that the firearm seizures were in carry-on bags. While it is legal to transport firearms at airports, they must be in checked baggage and the passenger with the firearm must leave the weapons unloaded.
Additionally, regulations require the firearms be locked in a hard-sided container, and the firearms, as well as any ammunition, be declared to TSA when the bag is checked in at the ticket counter. Firearms must be “completely secure” from access ahead of a flight, and the hard-sided cases must be locked in a way that is not easily opened.
