TSA keeps finding more guns at Charlotte Douglas International Airport

CHARLOTTE — Another year, another increase in the number of firearms that were found by security agents at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

The Transportation Security Administration on Wednesday released statistics showing how many firearms were seized last year at security checkpoints in airports across the country.

In 2023, 124 firearms were found at security checkpoints inside Charlotte’s airport.

That’s up from 2022′s record-setting year, when 117 firearms were found in Charlotte Douglas. The TSA reported that 106 firearms were found in the airport in 2021.

Across the whole country, the TSA says it caught a total of 6,737 firearms at security checkpoints, which the agency says is the highest one-year total in its.

“We are still seeing far too many firearms at TSA checkpoints, and what’s particularly concerning is the amount of them loaded, presenting an unnecessary risk to everyone at the TSA checkpoint,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the TSA, the agency doesn’t confiscate firearms. It works with local law enforcement to remove the passenger and firearm from the checkpoint area.

The TSA says firearms and ammunition are prohibited in carry-on baggage. You can travel with an unloaded firearm if you pack it in a locked, hard-sided case inside a checked bag. You also have to declare it to the airline when you check in.

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