CHARLOTTE — As travel picks up this Memorial Day weekend, Transportation Security Administration officials said they are seeing an alarming trend of people continuing to attempt to bring guns through TSA checkpoints.
Thirty-one thousand people are expected to depart from Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Memorial Day.
“It’s going to be crowded but it is going smooth so far,” said traveler Sandra Carr.
As numbers bounce back to almost pre-pandemic levels, Channel 9 has seen how one gun found at a checkpoint can have an impact on many other passengers looking to catch a flight. TSA officials said the one thing that can bring smooth security lines to a screeching halt are guns found at checkpoints.
In 2021, Charlotte Douglas set a record -- 106 guns found at security checkpoints, and TSA leaders said that this year, passengers may break that record.
“We have seen a total of 43 firearms at checkpoints. To put that in perspective with the 106 we saw all of last year, if volume remains high, we could see us surpass last year’s totals,” said Mark Howell with TSA.
In April, North Carolina Congressman Madison Cawthorn was cited by police for bringing a loaded handgun to checkpoint D, his second time being caught with a gun.
Security officials said each time someone attempts to bring a weapon through security, it impacts more than just one person. They said it could impact dozens if not hundreds of passengers at times, because security shuts down that entire checkpoint lane for 20 minutes or more.
“We do that for everyone’s safety because 85-90% of the firearms we find are loaded,” Howell said.
With lanes closing, it impacts people like Jotie Dhilon, who said she is always cutting her flights close.
“Yes it does and I am someone that shows up closer to my departure time so I need to plan for that,” she said.
TSA told Channel 9 that if someone is caught with a gun at a checkpoint, they could be arrested or cited and face a $10,000 fine.
(WATCH BELOW: CMPD: Rep. Madison Cawthorn cited for having gun at Charlotte Douglas Airport)
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