33 guns seized by TSA at Huntsville International Airport in 2024, 130 seized statewide: Report

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — According to the Transportation Security Administration, officers across the state of Alabama seized 130 guns at checkpoints in 2024.

According to the TSA website, the largest increase in year-to-year comparisons was at Huntsville International Airport where officers took 33 guns in 2024 compared to 20 in 2023. TSA said this was a 65% increase.

Of those 33 guns taken last year, TSA said 32 were loaded.

In 2025 so far, TSA at Huntsville International Airport has taken one gun, a Glock, loaded with 16 rounds.

The Alabama statewide total of 130 seized guns in 2024 was 23 percent higher than the 106 passengers who brought firearms to the checkpoints across the state in 2023. 

The specific numbers at the airports across Alabama last year were 71 at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, 69 loaded; 33 at Huntsville International Airport, 32 of them loaded; 15 at Mobile Regional Airport, all loaded; eight at Montgomery Regional Airport, all loaded; and three at Dothan Regional Airport, all loaded.

“This is a safety concern for our officers and the travelers in the checkpoints, especially because nearly all of these firearms were loaded,” said TSA Federal Security Director for the State of Alabama Tara Corse in a statement. “We commend our officers for their vigilance as we carry out our mission throughout the year to keep the traveling public safe.” 

If you are going to travel with your firearm it must be in your checked bag, unloaded and in a locked hard-sided case. You must declare it to the airline at check-in. 

“Travelers are responsible for being aware of what the firearm laws are on each side of their trip or they may be cited or heading to jail instead of to their vacation or business trip. Firearms may not be legal to transport even in checked baggage in some jurisdictions,” said Corse.

Many of the passengers across the country who bring firearms to a federal security checkpoint are arrested or issued notices to appear in court.

Regardless of whether the traveler is arrested or cited by law enforcement, passengers face a civil penalty imposed by the TSA that can reach nearly $15,000. If the traveler is in the TSA PreCheck program, those privileges will be lost for a period of time, possibly permanently.

For more information on what you can and can’t bring through the TSA security checkpoint, you can visit its website here.