With the busy holiday travel season upon Central Florida, officials at Orlando International Airport were urging travelers to help keep waiting times down by making sure they leave their weapons at home.
So far in 2017, OIA reports officials have confiscated 90 guns from passengers going through security screening.
“Guns brought to the checkpoints continues to be a disturbing and dangerous trend,” U.S. Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Sari Koshetz said. “We’ve had three guns in three days brought by passengers to this checkpoint right here in Orlando.”
Guns are the most confiscated item at Florida airports, and officials believe the number taken from passengers could pass 500 statewide for the first time.
That would be twice the number of guns confiscated statewide in 2012.
Guns aren’t the only thing that TSA agents have confiscated form passengers this year.
Other items include a cannonball, a belt with a hidden knife in the buckle, whips, ninja weapons, welding torches and numerous others.
“We get everything from credit card knives, very small knives that we have to find, all the way to hammers, machetes, swords, you name it,” TSA spokesman Jerry Henderson said. “We see all of those things come through the checkpoint.”
Cox Media Group