ranked sixth among U.S. airports in firearms found in carry-on luggage this past year and 92% of the guns that agents detected were loaded.
The TSA officers at DIA discovered 166 firearms in 2024, down from the 178 found in 2023 but 2.5 times more than a decade ago and above the six-year average since 2019 of 147, TSA data shows.
Nationwide, the 6,678 firearms that TSA agents found at airports in passengers’ carry-on luggage last year marks a 50% increase from 4,432 in 2019.
“This is never acceptable,” TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said. “Why people continue to bring them in carry-on luggage is beyond me. There’s no excuse. One of the first principles of firearm ownership is to know where your firearm is at all times. Bringing it to the checkpoint is a violation of that responsibility.”
The five U.S. airports where agents discovered the most firearms in 2024 were Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (440); Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (390), Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (272); the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (247); and Nashville International Airport (188).
TSA agents screened about 904 million travelers and airline crew members at U.S. airports in 2024, according to agency records released this week. At DIA, they screened 24.6 million travelers and crew members.
When a TSA agent using an X-ray screen detects a firearm, federal officials notify local airport police. The police officers remove the guns from the X-ray machine and contact the traveler. Potential criminal citations depend on police discretion.
officers made 156 arrests in 2024 for loaded firearms found at TSA screening at DIA, according to police records provided to the Denver Post.
TSA officials can also levy civil penalties- fines of up to $14,950 for repeat violations, with agency officials weighing whether the firearm was loaded. Even if a traveler carries a concealed weapons permit, firearms aren’t allowed in carry-on luggage.
Commercial airline travelers can transport firearms if they are unloaded and packed in a locked, hard-sided case in checked luggage.
