Nearly 40 handguns were confiscated at airport security checkpoints in New York and New Jersey this year, a large jump from last year.  

Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Lisa Farbstein says there are legal and safe ways to bring firearms onto flights with you, but more and more people are doing it incorrectly.  

“The wrong way to do it is to bring it to a security checkpoint,” said Farbstein. “Nobody should have access to a firearm during a flight.” 

Farbstein says the uptick in people trying to bring guns through TSA checkpoints is alarming, adding that on Jan. 17, someone tried to bring and automatic airsoft gun onto a flight at John F. Kennedy International Airport.  

Eleven guns alone were confiscated at LaGuardia in 2022, compared to just four in 2021. Newark Airport saw a slight increase in guns confiscated, while JFK Airport saw a slight dip.  

These numbers pale in comparison to other cities with less strict gun laws, like Atlanta, which had 448 guns confiscated in 2022.  

Over 6,500 guns were removed at TSA checkpoints across the country last year.  

“That set a record,” said Farbstein. ”That’s the most guns ever caught in a single calendar year. That’s not the record we want to set. We’d like to see it head in the other direction.” 

Farbstein did say that most of the confiscated firearms were legally owned.  

Firearms can be brought onboard a plane in checked bags. For more information on how to travel with legally owned firearms, click here.