Transportation Security Administration officers have stopped a total of 13 firearms at the Des Moines International Airport so far this year, a nearly doubled increase compared to 2023, officials said Tuesday.
TSA officers detected seven handguns in Iowa’s largest airport in 2023, officials said. In 2022, officers had detected 15 guns for the entire year.
The firearms were detected over the past nine months during screening at the checkpoint, TSA regional spokesperson Jessica Mayle told the Register. The firearms were found in the carry-on baggage of traveling passengers.
All 13 incidents were from separate passengers, Mayle said.
When a firearm is detected at a security checkpoint, TSA officers immediately contact local law enforcement, officials said. Authorities will then remove the passenger and the firearm from the checkpoint area.
Passengers who bring a firearm to a TSA checkpoint face a civil fine of up to about $15,000, officials said.
“TSA is extremely troubled by the increase in the number of passengers bringing firearms to the checkpoint,” Mayle said. “Even though we are seeing high travel volumes this year, one gun is too many, and we encourage passengers to start with an empty bag and make sure they aren’t accidentally bringing a firearm to the checkpoint.”