Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have stopped 33 firearms from being carried onto airplanes at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) during the first four months of 2024. The increase in passenger volume this year has played a part in the increase of firearm detections, and this summer TSA is expecting a record breaking number of travelers at RDU and around the nation.
When TSA officers at RDU see the image of a firearm on an X-ray screen, they immediately notify Raleigh-Durham International Airport police, who respond to the security checkpoint. A law enforcement officer removes the firearm from the X-ray tunnel and makes contact with the traveler. What happens to the firearm and the traveler is up to the discretion of RDU police. In 2024 during security screening at RDU checkpoints, 32 of the 33 firearms detected by TSA were found to be loaded by RDU Airport law enforcement officers.
“For the safety of the traveling public, I strongly urge all gun owners to double check the contents of their carry-on bags and ensure they know where their firearms are before traveling to the airport,” said Jennifer Gordon, TSA’s Federal Security Director at RDU.
TSA officers detected a total of 76 firearms at RDU security checkpoints in 2023.
