Dallas—The number of guns found at Texas airports is surging, according to the Transportation Security Administration’s 2022 data.
So if you want to fly with your firearm, here’s the safe and legal way to do so, according to TSA officials.
“You can travel with a firearm in your checked luggage,” said Amy Williams, TSA federal security director at Dallas Love Field. “First, we ask that you contact your air carrier for their specific requirements. The requirements are that the gun be unloaded in a hard-sided case that is locked, and the ammunition must be in its original container. The gun has to be declared with the air carrier in your checked luggage.”
The most common phrase TSA hears from passengers is that they “forgot” the gun was in their bag, Williams said.
“It’s very important for everyone to check their bag before they start packing to make sure they know exactly what is in their bag,” Williams said.
In 2022, DFW International Airport reported the second-highest number of guns found among U.S. airports, 385, behind the 448 detected at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. That was a record for DFW.
Two other Texas airports also ranked in the nation’s top eight for firearms found at TSA checkpoints last year, including third-ranked George Bush Intercontinental in Houston and eighth-ranked Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, with 298 and 150, respectively.
About 88% of all firearms found at checkpoints are loaded, TSA Administrator David Pekoske said at a South by Southwest presentation in March.
“If you carry a firearm in a checkpoint, we’re gonna see it,” he said. “It’s gonna take you obviously a lot more time, because we’re gonna bring law enforcement over, we’re going to do an investigation, and you’re likely going to face a civil penalty.”
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