Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers across the state of Alabama intercepted 130 firearms at airport security checkpoints in 2024. The largest number was at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) where TSA officers stopped 71 firearms at the checkpoint. Sixty-nine of those firearms were loaded.
The Alabama statewide total of 130 is 23 percent higher than the 106 passengers who brought firearms to the checkpoints in 2023. The largest increase was at Huntsville International Airport where TSA officers intercepted 33 firearms in 2024 compared to 20 in 2023.
“This is a safety concern for our officers and the travelers in the checkpoints, especially because nearly all of these firearms were loaded,” said TSA Federal Security Director for the State of Alabama Tara Corse. “We commend our officers for their vigilance as we carry out our mission throughout the year to keep the traveling public safe.”
Nationwide TSA officers intercepted 6,678 firearms at airport checkpoints in 2024. In 2023, 6,737 firearms were intercepted at airport checkpoints. It was the first annual nationwide decrease in firearms detected at checkpoints other than in 2020 when COVID saw 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. But anything that is flammable, corrosive or explosive cannot travel anywhere on the 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.
The specific numbers at the airports across Alabama last year were 71 at BHM, with 69 loaded; 33 at Huntsville International Airport, with 32 of them loaded; 15 at Mobile Regional Airport, all loaded; eight at Montgomery Regional Airport, all loaded; and three at Dothan Regional Airport, all loaded.
The original announcement can be found here.