Federal officers at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport discovered 38 handguns from travelers in 2023.
Tribune News Service
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Federal officers at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport discovered 38 handguns from travelers last year, a slight increase from 2022.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration screened almost 5.3 million travelers last year at the airport; that’s one firearm discovered for every 138,000 passengers.
Officials intercepted 35 guns in 2022.
Don Barker, the transportation agency’s Ohio security director, urged passengers to start packing with an empty bag or suitcase so they can be aware if they accidentally pack their guns or if a weapon previously had been inside a compartment.
“Responsible gun owners know where their guns are; they know not to bring them to the checkpoint,” Barker said in a statement. “Bringing a firearm to the checkpoint is a careless, dangerous mistake that passengers can easily avoid.”
John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Columbus also saw an increase in firearms detected at checkpoints. The agency’s officers found 55 firearms, an increase from 40 in 2022. Akron-Canton Airport and Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus each discovered three firearms at checkpoints, a slight increase from two the previous year.
Dayton International Airport was the only airport in Ohio to see a decrease in firearms detected at checkpoints. In 2023, eight firearms were detected, a decrease from 13 in 2022.
In all, 6,737 firearms were stopped at airports across the country. At least 93% of those firearms were loaded. The total is an increase from the 6,542 firearms intercepted in 2022. That makes 2023 the year with the highest total of firearms stopped at security checkpoints.
A total of 858 million travelers were screened by the agency in 2023. That means its officers detected one firearm for every 127,447 passengers.
The agency does not confiscate firearms. If a passenger brings a firearm to a security checkpoint, federal officers will contact police. The traveler held responsible may be cited or arrested depending on the law.
However, travelers can bring firearms in a checked baggage if the weapons are unloaded and packed separately from ammunition in a locked case. Passengers must tell airline employees that they have a firearm in their checked baggage.
Firearm laws differ across the country. If passengers are caught with a firearm at an airport checkpoint, they can be hit with a civil penalty up to $15,000, and their federal precheck eligibility could be revoked up to five years.
