Security workers have caught nearly as many firearms at Logan Airport checkpoints this year as they did in all of 2019, when more than twice as many passengers traveled, part of what Massachusetts Port Authority CEO Lisa Wieland called a “pretty alarming trend” across the country.
Wieland told Massport’s board that the rate of firearms seized at airport security checkpoints is on the rise nationally, and while Logan did not report the same volume of incidents as other locations, Boston’s international airport has also seen a substantial increase.
The Transportation Security Administration caught 18 firearms at Logan from the 42.5 million passengers that traveled through the airport in 2019 and 11 firearms from the 12.6 million total passengers in 2020, according to figures Wieland presented on Thursday.
So far in 2021, authorities have seized 15 firearms with a passenger volume of 15.2 million, a rate more than twice as high as two years ago.
“Of particular concern is the number of loaded firearms that people are bringing in their carry-on luggage,” Wieland said. “Most of the individuals that are stopped do have a license to carry, and most say that they just forgot about it. No evidence exists that there was any ill intent planned, but we do believe this is a very serious safety issue.”
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