Tag Archives: TSA

Via press release from the TSA: Transportation Security Administration (TSA) intercepted 1,503 firearms at airport security checkpoints during the first quarter of 2024, which ended March 31. This total represents an average of 16.5 firearms per day detected at TSA checkpoints, comparable to firearm detections during the same time period in 2023, when TSA officers intercepted 1,508 firearms at airport …

Glenn Beck’s The Blaze reports: Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah advocated the idea of abolishing the Transportation Security Administration, suggesting that airlines would do a better job of conducting security screenings. “Air-travel security need not depend on TSA. Airlines have many compelling reasons to keep weapons out of planes. They’d do so if a federal agency didn’t do it …

CBS News reports: The Transportation Security Administration found a record-setting 6,737 guns at airport security checkpoints in 2023, the agency announced Wednesday. The agency said approximately 93% of the weapons were loaded, which TSA Administrator David Pekoske said was “concerning.” More than 1,100 guns were found at just three airports, the TSA said. Officers at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the …

Gothamist reports: Authorities said a security checkpoint X-ray machine at LaGuardia Airport wiped an Arkansas man of his luggage after his bag triggered an alarm, prompting officers to unwrap 17 9mm bullets that had been “artfully concealed” inside of an otherwise clean disposable baby diaper, the TSA said. The man first told officials he didn’t know how the deadly diaper …

Axios reports: After nearly 2,500 reports of unruly passengers on flights last year, Congress is considering a new no-fly list. Senate and House members proposed legislation Wednesday that would allow the Transportation Security Administration to ban people convicted or fined for assaulting or interfering with airline crews. The Protection from Abusive Passengers Act would prohibit individuals on the list from …

The New York Times reports: The Transportation Security Administration thought it had settled a dispute over peanut butter some time ago: unless it is 3.4 fluid ounces or less, it has to be checked. However, the question of what the T.S.A. considers a liquid continues to confuse passengers. It bubbled up again last week when a writer and podcaster tried …

NBC News reports: A New Jersey felon attempted to board a flight late last year with an AR-15 rifle, a Taser and a fake U.S. Marshal badge, according to a federal complaint that was unsealed Monday. Seretse Clouden has been charged with unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon and fraudulent possession of an identification document and …

The Associated Press reports: The woman flying out of Philadelphia’s airport last year remembered to pack snacks, prescription medicine and a cellphone in her handbag. But what was more important was what she forgot to unpack: a loaded .380-caliber handgun in a black holster. The weapon was one of the 6,542 guns the Transportation Security Administration intercepted last year at …

From the Justice Department: A 41-year-old Syracuse, Utah man has been arrested and charged in a federal criminal complaint for carrying and using a straight edge razor blade during a flight Monday, November 21, 2022. The United States Attorney’s Office filed the complaint Tuesday, November 22, 2022, charging the defendant, Merrill Darrell Fackrell with Carrying a Weapon on an Aircraft …

The Hill reports: Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) have asked the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to take action against Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) for his incident involving a firearm at an airport checkpoint. Their letter comes just days after Rep. Madison Cawthorn was cited for trying to bring a loaded gun through a TSA checkpoint. According …

NBC News reports: Passengers at Boston Logan International Airport faced confusion, panic and delays on Easter Sunday after concerns over a suspicious package sparked an evacuation and a visit from the state police bomb squad. In a statement Sunday, Massachusetts State Police said their bomb squad had been called to Terminal A just after 4 p.m. after security staff spotted …

Miami’s NBC News affiliate reports: A man carrying a fully loaded gun boarded a commercial flight in Barbados and flew to Miami with the firearm in the plane’s cabin, the NBC 6 Investigators exclusively learned — a hair-raising incident that triggered an immediate investigation by the TSA into the security lapse that aviation experts say could have caused a disaster. …

Reuters reports: New rules requiring international air travelers arriving in the United States to obtain a negative COVID-19 test within one day of travel will take effect Monday at 12:01 a.m. ET (0501 GMT), according to an order issued late Thursday. Under current rules, vaccinated international air travelers can present a negative test result obtained within three days of their …

Reuters reports: President Joe Biden’s administration will extend requirements for travelers to wear masks on airplanes, trains and buses and at airports and train stations through mid-March to address ongoing COVID-19 risks, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters. A formal announcement extending the requirements through March 18 is expected on Thursday, the sources said. The White House and Transportation …

ABC News reports: A woman has been arrested after punching a Southwest Airlines employee in the head during boarding for a flight out of a Dallas airport, police said. Arielle Jean Jackson, 32, was arrested Saturday afternoon at Love Field, Dallas police said. Police said Jackson has been charged with aggravated assault. Police said that Jackson first had a verbal …

Reuters reports: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is doubling fines for first-time offenders who fail to wear masks, effective Friday, and said repeat offenders could face fines as high as $3,000. The White House said President Joe Biden was directing the higher fines to “ensure that masking requirements remain in place on the other modes of transportation as we continue …

Reuters reports: President Joe Biden’s administration plans to extend requirements for travelers to wear masks on airplanes, trains and buses and at airports and train stations through Jan. 18 to address ongoing COVID-19 risks, three sources told Reuters. Major U.S. airlines were informed of the planned extension on a call with the TSA and CDC on Tuesday, the three people …

NPR reports: The Transportation Security Administration, in the wake of the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline that caused widespread gasoline disruptions earlier this month, has announced new reporting requirements for pipeline operators. In a security directive, the TSA, which oversees pipeline cybersecurity, said it will now require that pipeline operators report any cyberattacks on their systems to the federal …

The Associated Press reports: Americans set a record for pandemic-era air travel, then broke it again over the Mother’s Day holiday weekend. The Transportation Security Administration said that slightly more than 1.7 million people were screened at airport checkpoints on Sunday, the highest number since March 2020, when travel was collapsing because of the coronavirus outbreak. However, those crowds were …

The Hill reports: The federal mask mandate for all transportation networks will be extended through September, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced Friday. The mask requirement is for travel on airplanes, in airports, on buses and on rail systems. It went into effect in February with an expiration date of May 11, which has now been moved to Sept. 13. …