The US authorities seized nearly 4,500 weapons during security checks at airports in 2019, which is a record number of its kind, officials announced yesterday.
This figure increases by 5% compared to the previous year, the highest in 18 years since the date of the US Transportation Safety Administration. Of the 4,432 weapons found either in luggage, or with the passengers themselves, 87% were stuffed, according to the administration's statement.
"The continuous increase in the number of firearms brought by passengers to airport security points is very worrying," said David Bekowski, Transportation Safety Administration official. And those weapons were seized at checkpoints at 278 airports throughout the United States, led by Atlanta (323), Dallas / Fort Worth (217), and Denver (140).
Bringing a weapon to a crime checkpoint can be punished with a fine of up to $ 13,000. However, weapons can be carried in checked baggage if the required procedures are followed.
In July, the Baltimore Department of Transportation Safety seized a missile launcher with an American military officer who wanted to bring it from Kuwait as a memorial piece, and this piece of weapon was not working, according to the agency.
Bring a weapon to a crime checkpoint that can be punished with a fine of up to $ 13,000