22 Guns Seized At NJ Airports In 2024: TSA

NEWARK, NJ — Transportation Security Administration agents intercepted 6,678 firearms, almost all of them loaded, before travelers could board airplanes at Newark Liberty International Airport and others around the country in 2024, the agency said in a recent news release.

The TSA said 94 percent of the firearms they detected at U.S. airports were loaded weapons. Overall, seizures were down last year, although only marginally with a difference of only about 60 guns between 2024 and 2023.

TSA agents screened 903 million passengers in 2024, compared with 858 million the year prior. The rate of firearms seizures per 1 million travelers was 7.4 in 2024, compared with 7.8 in 2023.

Lisa Farbstein, spokesperson for the TSA's Northeast office, said the agency caught 21 firearms at security checkpoints in Newark Liberty International Airport in 2024, and one at Atlantic City International Airport.

One of those incidents made the TSA's top 10 “most unusual finds” — a disassembled gun that was found inside a boot and a box of Lego blocks back in October.

The gun’s slide, spring and gun magazine – which was loaded with 12 bullets – were found mixed among the plastic pieces of a Lego set, authorities said.

Farbstein clarified that police will confiscate the firearms after they are detected, not the TSA.

Airports reporting the most gun seizures were Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta (440); Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (390); and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston (272).

According to the TSA, guns can be transported on a flight if they are unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided case and declared to the airline. The airline will be sure that the gun travels with checked baggage in the belly of the plane – never in the cabin.