Milwaukee airport: TSA intercepts 3 firearms in 1st quarter of 2024
This handgun was detected by TSA officers in a passengers carry-on bag at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport on April 4. (TSA)
MILWAUKEE - Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers intercepted three firearms at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) during the first quarter of 2024 which ended March 31. This represents a decline over the same period in 2023, when eight firearms were stopped at MKE.
Most recently, a firearm was discovered in a passenger’s carry-on property during X-ray screening at an MKE checkpoint on April 4. This incident will be counted toward the agency’s second-quarter tally.
In all firearm detections at MKE, the Milwaukee County Sherriff’s Office was contacted for assistance and deputies responded to the checkpoint.
Firearms at airports nationwide
Nationwide, 1,503 firearms at airports were detected at security checkpoints during the first quarter of the year. This total represents an average of 16.5 firearms per day detected at TSA checkpoints, comparable to firearm detections during the same time period in 2023, when TSA officers intercepted 1,508 firearms at airport security checkpoints, an average of 16.8 firearm catches per day. During both time periods, more than 93% of firearms were loaded.
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The number of airline passengers screened at TSA security checkpoints increased from the same time period in 2023. In the first quarter of 2024, Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) screened more than 206 million passengers, compared to more than 191 million passengers in the first quarter of 2023, representing an increase of 7.8%. The rate of passengers with firearms during the most recent quarter was 7.3 firearms per one million passengers, which is a slight decrease from the same period in 2023, when the rate of discovery was 7.9 firearms per one million passengers.
Passengers may travel with a firearm, but it must be:
- Secured in the passenger’s checked baggage
- Packed unloaded
- Locked in a hard-sided case
- Declared to the airline when checking the bag at the ticket counter
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Firearms are prohibited at security checkpoints, in the secure area of an airport and in the passenger cabin of an aircraft, even if a passenger has a concealed carry permit or is in a constitutional carry jurisdiction.