Editorial note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration intercepts thousands of weapons each year.
Per U.S. law, passengers traveling through the U.S. wishing to travel with their firearm must properly pack it in checked luggage and declare such items to their airline at the time of check-in. The majority of firearms are detected in carry-on bags, per the TSA.
Firearms are prohibited at security checkpoints and inside aircraft cabins, even with a concealed carry permit. Firearms are only permitted in checked baggage, unloaded in a locked hard-sided case and must be declared to the airline when checking the bag at the ticket counter. Likewise, ammunition (from single bullets to boxes full of bullets), gun magazines (empty or loaded), pepper spray, stun guns, sparklers and fireworks (and anything else labeled as flammable), and replica weapons are also prohibited in carry-on bags.
Upon detecting a firearm at a TSA checkpoint, officers will contact local law enforcement to safely unload and take possession of the firearm before potentially arresting or citing the passenger. Further, the TSA may issue a civil penalty of up to nearly $15,000. Plus, these passengers lose TSA PreCheck eligibility and privileges for five years.
In addition to guns, the TSA regularly confiscates other illegal items.
Some examples include a knife in the shape of a gun at LaGuardia Airport (LGA), a cleaver and Batarang at Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF), a knife in a belt buckle at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), a push knife at Trenton-Mercer Airport (TTN), throwing knives at Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC), a machete at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), and key knives at Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE).
Other items include a cane sword confiscated at EWR, an ax at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and sparklers at Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA). Perhaps the most surprising item of note was a cat at Norfolk International Airport (ORF).
Travelers unsure whether an item can be packed in a carry-on or checked bag should download the MyTSA app and use its "What can I bring?" feature. Or you can text "Travel" to AskTSA (275-872). For a full list of acceptable TSA items, visit this page.
Related reading:
- Top credit cards with Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Clear
- 12 key things to know about TSA PreCheck
- Why you should get TSA PreCheck and Clear — and how you can save on both
- 7 ways to get free or discounted TSA PreCheck, Global Entry and Clear
