2 dozen guns detected at Logan Airport checkpoints last year

Agents at Logan Airport found more guns coming through security checkpoints in 2024 than they did the year before. But overall, fewer guns were spotted coming through all eight of New England airports' checkpoints, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

Twenty four guns were detected at Logan in 2024, compared with 18 in 2023 and 31 in 2022. Of the 24 detected, 21 of them were loaded. Overall, 48 were detected at the eight New England airports, compared with 52 in 2023 and 47 in 2022.

" New England, for the most part, every single year, has the fewest firearm detections than anywhere else around the country," said Dan Velez, TSA spokesperson for New England.

Nationally, the number of guns detected at TSA checkpoints dropped from 6,737 in 2023 to 6,678 last year. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International airport logged the most guns in 2024, with 440 firearms.

Of the 277 airports that found firearms at checkpoints across the country, Boston ranked 64th for the highest number detected.

The guns collected in Boston tend to be small caliber firearms, with the 9mm being the most common, according to Velez. No assault weapons were detected at Logan, he said.

"It's very rare that someone would bring any type of assault rifle or a rifle in general just because those are difficult to get in your bag, they're so big," said Velez. "But we do find them from time to time."

Once a TSA agent detects a firearm they immediately call Massachusetts State Police who take the lead on any investigation. What comes next depends on the passenger and situation, Velez said.

"They'll [State Police] ask them, you know, why they have a firearm in their bag," he said. "They'll look to see if it's loaded. They'll look at their record, if they have one. There's a lot of things that they take into account. Sometimes they'll get off with a warning. Sometimes they'll get arrested. It just depends on what the police find when they interview the passenger."

Passengers are legally allowed to carry firearms in their checked bags as long as they let their airline know it's there and follow their procedures for safeguarding it.

Between two million and just over 4 million people traveled in and out of Logan Airport in each month of last year, according to data from Massport. TSA agents screened 33.4 million people across all eight New England airports in 2024, finding an average of 1.44 guns per million passengers screened.