SEATTLE — The Transportation Security Administration at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport found two loaded guns and one BB gun in travelers’ carry-ons on Thursday morning.
TSA says they found the guns during routine airport screening.
The first gun was a .45 caliber Smith & Wesson M&P handgun and was in the carry-on bag of a 59-year-old man headed to the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The gun was loaded with seven rounds of ammunition.
The second was in the carry-on of a 31-year-old woman headed to Nashville International Airport. TSA found the 9 mm Sig Sauer P365 handgun at 8:20 a.m. with 10 rounds of ammunition.
TSA found the BB gun at 9:20 a.m. in the bag of a traveler headed to Kahului International Airport on the Island of Maui.
“The spring break travel season at SEA is upon us and checkpoint operations are very busy. Despite the surge in travelers, I am personally grateful that TSA officers across the airport and across the country remain focused on their mission of screening one bag, one passenger at a time,” said TSA Federal Security Director for Washington Greg Hawko. “If you are traveling with a firearm, please take a few moments before you come to the airport to refresh your memory on the proper policies and procedures on how to pack your gun. Firearms should never be brought to the security checkpoint in carry-on luggage.”
In 2023, TSA at Sea-Tac says they have found 30 guns in carry-on luggage. In 2022, a total of 6,542 firearms were found in carry-on luggage at airports across the country and 89% of those were loaded, says TSA.
Firearms can be transported on a commercial aircraft only if they are unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided case, and placed in checked baggage.
TSA says there was nothing that indicated the travelers on Thursday at Sea-Tac were linked. Each of them was permitted to get on their flights.