Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the leading airport in the country, according to new numbers.
That would be for the number of guns confiscated from passengers’ carry-on bags at the security checkpoint
So far this year, 92 guns have been discovered, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. That is approaching the 109 firearms that were confiscated at the airport all of last year.
The Atlanta airport has reclaimed the top position after finishing in second place last year. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport led the nation a year ago with 120 guns discovered in carry-on bags.
Unloaded firearms can be carried on commercial flights as a checked item, according to the TSA.
“TSA never wants to infringe on anyone’s right to take a firearm when they travel,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted TSA spokesman Mark Howell as saying. “We just don’t want it accessible during the flight.”
In the last week of July, for example, TSA agents discovered 62 firearms at airports nationwide, according to a post on its blog. Of those, 54 were loaded and 25 “had a round chambered,” the TSA said.
The discovery of guns in carry-on bags is not a new trend.
In 2014, TSA agents nationwide confiscated more than 2,200 guns in carry-on bags, a 22 percent increase from the number of firearms discovered in 2013. More than 1,800 of those guns found last year were loaded, according to the federal agency.
