There are many things you shouldn't - or can't - pack in your carry-on luggage when you're flying.

Here's your friendly reminder that firearms are included on the list of things that are not allowed to go through airport security.

In a press release earlier this week, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) shared that more firearms were seized across airport security checkpoints nationally in 2021 than in any other year since the TSA first came to be.

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TSA Security Checkpoints Nationwide Set Record Amount Of Seized Firearms In 2021

TSA officers found 5,972 firearms across 268 airport security checkpoints nationwide in 2021.

To put that number into perspective with data from prior years, 2021's total stands as a significant increase from the 3,257 firearms detected in 2020, and a spike from the 4,432 firearms detected in 2019 (pre-pandemic).

According to the press release from Tuesday (Jan. 18), the rate of guns caught at checkpoints nationwide came to 10.2 firearms per one million passengers in 2021. Of the guns caught in 2021, approximately 86 percent were loaded.

TSA Officers At DIA Seize Record Amount Of Firearms In 2021

As per recent data from TSA's website, Denver International Airport (DIA) agents found 141 firearms in travelers' carry-on luggage in 2021, the highest number of firearms found at the airport since 2018; in fact, this number is the highest number of firearms seized at DIA, ever.

“As the data suggests, travelers bringing firearms in carry-on luggage is not new and we have now reached an unacceptable level of carelessness by gun owners. Simply stated, one gun in carry-on luggage is one too many,” TSA Federal Security Director for Colorado Larry Nau said in a news release, according to the Greeley Tribune. 

Denver International Airport ranked sixth nationally in regards to the number of firearms seized by TSA agents at security checkpoints across the country in 2021.

Top 10 Airports In Which Firearms Were Seized Through Security Checkpoints In 2021 

See where DIA ranked among airports nationwide in terms of how many firearms were seized through security checkpoints this past year:

  1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) - 507 firearms seized
  2. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) - 317 firearms seized
  3. Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) - 245 firearms seized
  4. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) - 196 firearms seized
  5. Nashville International Airport (BNA) - 163 firearms seized
  6. Denver International Airport (DEN) - 141 firearms seized
  7. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) - 128 firearms seized
  8. Orlando International Airport (MCO) - 124 firearms seized
  9. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International (MSY) - 119 firearms seized
  10. Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) - 115 firearms seized

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