The Transport Safety Authority surveyed more than 831,000 people on Sunday, recording its highest count since mid-March when the outbreak of COVID-19 brought air travel to a near standstill.
However, with air travel approaching a height of five months, airport security finds guns in bags for passenger transport at three times the rate charged for the pandemic.
What’s more, about 80% of the cannons are loaded.
TSA provides a daily number of people who are screened through security checkpoints at U.S. airports, which includes ticketed travelers, some flight crew and airport workers who are required to be screened prior to their shift.
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According to the agency’s latest figures, 831,789 people were screened through security checkpoints on August 9, indicating that flyers are increasingly returning to airports across the nation.
Meanwhile, officers found 15.3 guns for every million people screened in July, compared to 5.1 per million people in July of last year, the Transportation Security Administration said Monday.
There has been a significant increase in loaded guns at checkpoints, said TSA Director David Pekoske. He said screeners are already operating in conditions of increased risk and that “no one should have to introduce new ones.”
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A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screens a passenger at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. (Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
It is legal to carry guns in checked bags when they are unloaded and in a locked case. There are federal civil fines for misplacing a gun in a carry-on bag, and offenders may lose use of rapid-fire screening programs such as TSA PreCheck, but criminal prosecutors are usually left to local authorities.
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In the United States, air travel was polluted in mid-March because of the virus. At the beginning of April, the figures at the beginning of April fell sharply below 100,000 – a decrease of about 95%.
Although air traffic is still 69% lower than the comparable Sunday a year ago, figures have been steadily increasing since late April as airlines implement safety protocols to lure in weary travelers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
