Slightly fewer guns found last year at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

Fifty-three guns were discovered last year by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, a slight decrease from the 58 guns found at MSP in 2022.

Firearms at airport checkpoints "represent an unnecessary risk and an expensive mistake" for passengers who do not follow government guidelines for properly packing guns in checked baggage, TSA said in a news release Thursday.

"Responsible gun owners know where their guns are and they know not to bring them to a checkpoint," said Marty Robinson, Minnesota TSA's federal security director. "We urge passengers to start with an empty bag so you know with certainty that there is nothing prohibited inside. Bringing a firearm to the checkpoint is a careless, dangerous mistake that passengers can easily avoid."

Nationwide, 6,737 firearms were discovered in 2023 by TSA personnel at airport security checkpoints, stopping the weapons from getting into secured areas of the airport and on board aircraft. About 93% of the firearms discovered were loaded, TSA said.

Last year's nationwide figure, the highest in TSA history, represented a 3% increase over the 6,542 guns discovered in 2022.

At MSP, 56 guns were discovered in 2021, a significant increase over the 34 found in 2020 and the 40 in 2019.

TSA said its officers screened some 858 million people nationwide last year — meaning the agency intercepted 7.8 firearms per million passengers, or one firearm for every 127,447 travelers screened.

Passengers at MSP brought guns to the airport at a rate below the national average. With more than 13.4 million passengers and crew screened at MSP last year, TSA officers found firearms in carry-on luggage at a rate of 3.9 firearms per million passengers screened.

People who violate TSA rules face a civil penalty of up to $15,000, revocation of TSA PreCheck eligibility for at least five years and the possibility of enhanced screening "to ensure there are no other threats present," according to the agency.

If a firearm is detected at a checkpoint, TSA officers contact local law enforcement officers, who remove the passenger and the firearm from the checkpoint area. Depending on local laws, police may arrest or cite the passenger with criminal charges.

Passengers who are legally permitted to carry firearms must pack them unloaded in a checked bag — separate from ammunition in a locked hardback case — and declare them at the airline check-in counter. TSA urges travelers to check firearm laws in the states they are flying to and from.