The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which has screened higher passenger volumes this summer and a record-breaking three million passengers on Sunday, July 7, intercepted 3,269 firearms at airport security checkpoints during the first half of 2024. The first half of the year ended June 30 and the total represents an average of 18 firearms detected per day at TSA checkpoints; more than 94% were loaded.
While the number of firearms discovered during this period last year is nearly the same at 3,251, the total number of passengers has increased. TSA has screened nearly 7% more passengers during the first half of 2024 than during the same period in 2023. During the second quarter of 2024, TSA officers screened more than 236 million passengers, compared with more than 221 million passengers in the second quarter of 2023.
The rate of passengers with firearms during the second quarter of 2024 was 7.5 firearms per one million passengers, which is a slight decrease from the same period in 2023, when the rate of discovery was 7.9 firearms per one million passengers. The percentage of firearms that were loaded has increased by 2%, however.