SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City International airport set a record for guns found in passenger's carry-on luggage in 2021.
In a press release Tuesday, the TSA revealed that agents found a record breaking 115 guns in people's luggage last year, easily surpassing the 71 total guns found at the airport in 2020.
The report reveladed that SLC is ranked 10th in the country for the amount of weapons found in carry-on luggage.
“A record number of firearm discoveries at SLC and at airports nationwide continues to stun and disappoint,” said TSA Federal Security Director for Utah Matt Davis. “Despite an increase in the number of firearms that were brought by travelers to the security checkpoint at SLC, TSA employees here and across the country have not lost their focus. In fact, we are even more committed to our security mission and will remain vigilant to ensure that any type of security threat does not make it into the sterile area of the airport or onto an aircraft to ensure the security of the traveling public.”
Per longstanding TSA regulations, firearms can only be taken on a commercial aircraft if they are unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided case and placed in checked baggage. Additionally, any kind of replica gun is also prohibited in carry-on baggage and must be transported in checked luggage.
The press release went on to say that TSA agents at SLC screened approximately 7.3 million passengers and crew in 2021, making it the 24th busiest airport for TSA security checkpoints. By comparison, TSA screened 4.4 million at SLC in 2020. That's a 64% increase.
