Arizona flyers tried to sneak 247 guns past airport security in 2024

Arizonans really don't know how to behave around airplanes. When they're not aiming laser pointers at them, they're trying to bring guns onboard.

On Wednesday, the Transportation Security Administration released data that casts travelers coming through Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in an embarrassing light. Once again, Sky Harbor ranked highly among airports where passengers were caught trying to bring guns on their flights.

According to the TSA, its agents intercepted 247 guns at Sky Harbor in 2024, the fourth-highest total in the country. The only airports where agents confiscated more guns were Atlanta (440), Dallas-Fort Worth (390) and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (272).

Sky Harbor also ranked fourth in the country for intercepted firearms in 2023, with 235. About 95% of the weapons were loaded when discovered. In 2022, Sky Harbor ranked fifth.

This may be a good time to remind travelers: We've been doing this for 20 years! You can't take guns on the plane!


"One firearm at a checkpoint is too many,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske in a press release. “If individuals who carry a firearm intend to travel, we remind them that the firearm must be unloaded, locked in a hard-sided case, declared to the airline at the check-in counter and transported in checked baggage.”

If agents discover a gun at a security checkpoint, they have to stop the screening process and call local police. Officers ultimately decide whether to arrest or cite the person who brought the weapon.

But that isn’t all. Anyone who brings a firearm to a TSA checkpoint will face a fine of up to $14,950 and can be banned from qualifying for TSA PreCheck for at least five years.

Nationally, 6,678 firearms were intercepted at security checkpoints in 2024, and 94% of them were loaded. The 2024 total is about 60 guns fewer than the 2023 total. That year saw the most firearm discoveries in TSA’s history.

The data was released weeks after a family dispute erupted into a shooting just outside a security checkpoint in Sky Harbor. Two men and one woman were shot, while the man who allegedly fired the gun was stabbed during the incident. All of the involved individuals survived. Phoenix police have not made any arrests in the case.