More people tried to bring guns through airport security in 2019 than the year before

Travelers tried to bring more guns through Newark Liberty Airport security checkpoints last year than at any other metro New Jersey-New York airport, Transportation Security Administration said.

Overall, TSA officers nabbed travelers with 26 guns in the New York City region’s three major airports in 2019, which officials called a “notable increase” from the 20 caught in 2018. That reflected a national trend of an uptick in the number of firearms travelers have brought to airports over the past several years.

Newark Airport bucked that trend with 11 firearms detected at checkpoints last year, a decline from the 14 guns TSA officers found in 2018, officials said. Still, screeners at Newark Airport saw more guns than the eight detected at John F. Kennedy Airport or the seven gun travelers tried to bring on airplanes at LaGuardia Airport.

Travelers who bring weapons to a checkpoint are subject to federal civil penalties of up to $13,000. A typical first offense for carrying a handgun into a checkpoint is $3,900, TSA officials said.

Nationwide, TSA officers detected more firearms at checkpoints in 2019 than ever before in the agency’s 18-year history. A total of 4,432 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags or on passengers at checkpoints across the country last year, officials said. Of those firearms, 87% were loaded.

The reason for the uptick? “More guns,” said Lisa Farbstein, a TSA spokeswoman.

Figures for how many of those detections resulted in arrests or criminal charges were not immediately available from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, operators of the airports.

The three local airports didn’t come close to being near the top 10 airports that had the most firearms detected. That distinction goes Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport where 323 guns were intercepted, an increase of 25 firearms from 2018. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport was second highest at 217 guns, officials said.

How can you legally travel with a firearm? Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are unloaded, packed in a hard-side case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition. Ammunition must be in its original box and can be packed inside the hard-side case, next to the firearm.

Airline officials should be notified about the gun when they check that bag, TSA officials said. www.nj.com