The Transportation Security Administration announced Tuesday that travel returned to pre-pandemic levels, with around 2 million passengers screened a day, but 2022 also set a new record for firearm interceptions.
The agency reported that it confiscated 6,542 firearms in 2022, 88% of which were loaded, at security checkpoints. That’s an increase of more than 500 firearms in 2021, which saw a record of 5,972 firearms.
“I am incredibly proud of our dedicated TSA employees who perform the critical task of securing our nation’s transportation systems each day,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske.
There were 448 firearm confiscations at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in 2022, the most of any airport in the country. It was followed by 385 at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and 298 at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.