In 2016, 86 guns were found at security checkpoints at Orlando International Airport, an increase of 75.5 percent over 2015, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
Orlando International ranked as the nation’s sixth-worst airport last year for the number of firearms discovered in travelers’ bags, said Sari Koshetz, the administration’s spokeswoman.
“Judging by the volume of lost and-found items at [Orlando International], passengers seem to be more focused on catching their flights,” airport executive director Phil Brown said in an email. “Prompting them to remember to properly store their concealed weapon is challenging.”
The top five airports, in order, were Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Denver International Airport.
Tampa International Airport came in No. 8 with 79 guns found there.
To start 2017, six guns were found at Orlando International in January alone, up from the three discovered a year earlier, said Koshetz. The most recent one was a .38 caliber, Model 38 Smith and Wesson discovered Jan. 27 in the bag of a 59-year-old woman and loaded with five rounds.
To combat the increase in firearms being brought to Orlando’s airport, Koshetz said the TSA will likely increase the number of news conferences discussing the number of guns found at security. It had been routine for TSA to announce that information to local news outlets with a goal of keeping the topic on travelers’ minds, but that changed last year after the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in downtown Orlando in June to be sensitive to the community, Koshetz said.
Still, more education and public outreach is needed, she said.
“Everybody has a responsibility to know what can and cannot be in their bags,” Koshetz said, adding that thousands of knives, brass knuckles and other “threat items” also are confiscated in Orlando every year.
Signage at the Orlando airport’s parking garages reminds people they cannot bring guns into the terminal. Signs posted at TSA checkpoints also remind passengers that weapons are not allowed in their bags.
Marketing efforts to remind people to not pack guns in their carry-on continue, airport spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell said, with media alerts also sent out during peak and holiday travel seasons.
In 2013, airport leaders added more no-guns signs after seeing an increase of arrests made of passengers carrying weapons to the security check. Only 47 guns were discovered at the security checkpoints that year.
Recently, guns discovered stayed around that number with 47 found in 2014 and 50 found in 2015.
Orlando Police Department responds to every gun found at the airport’s security checkpoints; responding officers determine whether the passenger is arrested. TSA can levy a civil penalty up to $11,000 against the offender, regardless of whether police file charges, said Koshetz. Police also determine if a weapon is confiscated.
Brown said the number of concealed weapons permits in Florida increased by 13 percent in 2016, citing data from the state’s Department of Agriculture. Passenger traffic at Orlando International increased by 3.1 million in 2016.
“So, some increase at the checkpoint is likely given that the vast majority of weapons confiscations by TSA are concealed weapons permits holders that forgot,” Brown said.
Last year, airport leaders started the process of increasing the number of K-9 units at the terminal. The December vote, the first step, would add as many as four K-9 teams with an initial startup cost of $330,000.
Koshetz said an increase in K-9 units would only make the airport safer.
“The Transportation Security Administration, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and the Orlando Police Department have a strong partnership and provide multiple layers of security to keep the traveling public safe,” she said. “Each agency has explosive detection K-9s.”
Koshetz said the TSA provides specialized K-9s to federal authorities and the airport security staff.
“Additional teams will escalate both the detection and deterrence aspects of our partnership,” she said.
Got a news tip? cdineen@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5414; Twitter, @CaitlinDineen
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