Guns At Airports In 2020: How Many Found At O'Hare, Midway

CHICAGO, IL — Although airport traffic was down significantly in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, about twice the number of guns were found per million passengers than in the previous year.

Approximately 10 firearms per million passengers screened were found at the nation’s airports, compared with about 5 firearms per million passengers screened in 2019, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

At O'Hare International Airport, 33 guns were found in 2020, the TSA said. At Midway, 21 guns were found. While that may sound like a lot, Chicago's major airports didn't even make it into the top 10 for catching guns last year.

At the top of the list is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where 220 guns were found by the TSA in 2020. It’s the fifth year in a row the Atlanta airport, the nation’s busiest, has held in No. 1 spot in firearm catches, TSA spokesman Mark Howell said in a news release.

Read More On Patch: Atlanta Airport Tops Nation For Firearms Found In Luggage

Dallas-Fort Worth had the second most firearm catches in 2020 with 176, and Houston’s George Bush International Airport was third with 126.

Of note, only five firearms were found at the two New York City airports combined in 2020: three at LaGuardia and two and John F. Kennedy.

In all, 3,257 firearms were found on passengers or in their carry-on bags at TSA checkpoints. About 83 percent of the firearms were loaded, the TSA said.

The 2020 total was just roughly 1,200 shy of the record 4,432 firearms found at airports the year before, even though the number of passengers screened fell by 500 million from year to year due to the pandemic.

“Bringing a firearm to a TSA security checkpoint poses a serious risk to TSA officer and passenger safety, and doing so may result in significant fines or arrest,” TSA Administrator Darby LaJoye said in a release.

The penalties for carrying a firearm to a TSA checkpoint include criminal citations, fines of between $2,050 and $10,250, and the possibility of losing privileged traveler status such as TSA PreCheck, although those are administered on a case-by-case basis.