Nearly all of the 130 guns confiscated at Alabama airports in 2024 were loaded, TSA says

All but three of the 130 guns found by Transportation Security Administration officers at checkpoints at Alabama airports last year were loaded when they were intercepted, the agency said Wednesday.

“This is a safety concern for our officers and the travelers in the checkpoints, especially because nearly all of these firearms were loaded,” said Tara Corse, TSA federal security director for Alabama.

“We commend our officers for their vigilance as we carry out our mission throughout the year to keep the traveling public safe.”

At Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, 69 of the 71 guns were loaded. Of the 33 confiscated at Huntsville International Airport, 32 were loaded, according to the agency.

Every other airport in Alabama where guns were found, the firearms were all loaded: Mobile Regional Airport (15 or 15 loaded); Montgomery Regional Airport (eight of eight loaded); and Dothan Regional Airport (three of three loaded).

TSA officers intercepted 130 guns at airport security checkpoints in the state in 2024 — a 23% increase from 2023, when 106 were caught in 2023.

Huntsville International Airport recorded the largest increase in Alabama. Officers found 33 firearms at security checkpoints compared to 20 interceptions in 2023.

Across the country, TSA officers intercepted 6,678 firearms at airport checkpoints in 2024. In 2023, 6,737 firearms were intercepted at airport checkpoints.

Last year marked the first annual nationwide decrease in firearms detected at checkpoints, other than in 2020, when COVID led to a sizable decrease in the number of passengers who flew that year.

Of the national number of firearms intercepted in 2024, approximately 94 percent were loaded. Firearms were stopped at 277 airport checkpoints nationwide in 2024.

“Make sure your firearm is not in your carry-on bag before you enter the checkpoint,” said Corse. “And also check that you do not have a pocketknife or other threats that are not permitted in the cabin of the aircraft.”

Most items that are prohibited in your carry-on bag can be placed in a checked bag, according to the agency.

Anything that is flammable, corrosive or explosive cannot travel anywhere on a plane. Hand grenades, even replica ones, cannot travel on the plane in checked or carry-on bags.

If you are going to travel with your firearm it must be in your checked bag, unloaded and in a locked hard-sided case. You must declare it to the airline at check-in.

“Travelers are responsible for being aware of what the firearm laws are on each side of their trip or they may be cited or heading to jail instead of to their vacation or business trip. Firearms may not be legal to transport even in checked baggage in some jurisdictions,” said Corse.