Jan. 15—The Transportation Security Administration detected 48 firearms at eight New England airports in 2024, including three at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT), down from the region’s record number of 52 in 2023.
The number of firearm detections reported at MHT has been on the rise in recent years — three in 2024, two in 2023 and a single incident reported in 2022.
The most recent incident at MHT occurred Oct. 16 at the main security checkpoint, when TSA agents detected a firearm in a man’s carry-on bag, officials said.
TSA notified Londonderry police, who responded and located a loaded 9mm firearm.
Police secured the gun. The 53-year-old New Hampshire resident “ended up missing his flight,” TSA officials said in a news release.
Earlier his year, TSA officers stopped a woman from carrying a firearm onto an airplane at MHT. TSA again notified Londonderry police, who responded and discovered an unloaded .380 caliber firearm.
Police took possession of the firearm, and the New Hampshire woman, 32, was allowed to continue on her trip, according to Daniel Velez, a regional TSA spokesman.
TSA officers have detected 24 firearms at Logan Airport security checkpoints this year, up from 18 in 2023, Velez said.
TSA officers have detected a total of 48 firearms at New England security checkpoints so far in 2023; the 24 at Logan, two at Portland International Airport in Maine, nine at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, two each at Bangor International Airport in Maine, Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport in Vermont and Tweed Airport in New Haven, Connecticut., four at T.F. Green International Airport in Rhode Island, and three at MHT.
TSA regulations prohibit ammunition in carry-on bags.
In 2024, TSA New England screened more than 33.4 million individuals, which indicates the agency intercepted 1.44 firearms per million passengers, topping 2023’s 1.7 per million passengers.
The decrease in the number of firearms detected at New England airports mirrored what happened around the country.
In 2024, TSA officers nationwide detected 6,678 firearms in carry-on bags or on passengers at checkpoints. In 2023, TSA detected a record 6,737 firearms at security checkpoints nationwide.
Nationally, 94% of firearms detected by TSA officers were loaded. In New England, the rate of loaded firearms detected was 89.6%.
“We take it very seriously when our officers stop a traveler with a gun during the screening process,” Bob Allison, TSA’s federal security director for Massachusetts, said in a statement. “Gun owners need to know where their firearms are at all times. There are clear and simple rules for flying with firearms, and we want to make sure passengers understand them to avoid delays, fines, and potential legal consequences.”
He added that gun owners should visit the TSA website for instructions on how to properly travel with a firearm.
TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who have guns and gun parts with them at a checkpoint. A typical first offense for carrying a loaded gun into a checkpoint is $3,000 and can go as high as $15,000 depending on any mitigating circumstances.
This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits, because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane.
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter.
Checked firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked and packed separately from ammunition.