PHOENIX — Twice as many firearms were detected at the nation's airports in 2020 than the year before, according to data from the Transportation Security Administration.
The TSA discovered 3,257 firearms on passengers or in their carry-on bags at checkpoints. On the other side of the coin, there were 500 million fewer passengers being screened at checkpoints in 2020 than in 2019.
About 83% of the firearms were loaded. In 2019, about 87% of the 4,432 discovered firearms were loaded.
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport was in fourth place for the most firearms discovered, just behind Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
A total of 124 firearms were found at Sky Harbor, according to TSA data.
