Washington, D.C. – The number of firearms found at airports by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has continued to increase in recent years. In 2019 TSA employees found a record setting number of firearms at airport security checkpoints—4,432. This represented an increase of five percent over 2018. It is against the law to bring firearms through airport security checkpoints even if they are unloaded. In 2019 nearly 87 percent of the firearms found by TSA agents were loaded and nearly 34 percent had a round chambered. TSA is authorized to impose civil penalties of up to $13,333 per violation, per person for such violations. Repeated violations will result in even higher fines.