The Transportation Security Administration said it expects a record number of travelers to travel through U.S. airports on Sunday as security checkpoints become more crowded. More than 32 million people are expected to pass through TSA security screening between June 27 and July 8, a 5.4% increase over the same period last year, according to the agency.
As waves of travelers return, TSA officials expect the amount of prohibited items on the conveyor belt to increase.
“I've seen chainsaws in carry-on luggage. [and] “We've seen large power tools and saws,” Michael Durrett, deputy chief of federal security at Los Angeles International Airport, told CBS News senior transportation correspondent Chris Van Cleave. “We recently saw a hobby rocket being put in checked baggage, and it was a large rocket.”
“It's safe to say that people would pack in the kitchen sink if they could,” he added.
Martin Garcia, a TSA officer in Los Angeles, said they have tried to do just that, telling Van Cleave he's seen passengers try to bring kitchen sinks on board and deer antlers on board. Some of the stranger items TSA agents have blocked so far this year include:
- Ninja-style throwing knives
- Samurai sword
- Machete
- Snake bag
- Taser
- Replica grenades
- Electric sander
- firework
Water bottles and firearms are the items most frequently stopped by TSA agents. TSA agents are 6,737 firearms Last year, most of them were found in luggage at airport security checkpoints. 1,500 firearms At the airport inspection area.
The TSA also regularly confiscates more mundane items. For example, in one recent incident, Rep. Victoria Spaatz, R-Indiana, Received an award The TSA says it's legal for airline passengers to carry unloaded guns on their planes, but the weapon must be kept in a locked hard case, declared to the airline, and packed in the passenger's checked baggage.
The TSA does not confiscate firearms. If a firearm is found at a checkpoint, officers must ask local law enforcement to seize the weapon. It is up to the police to arrest the passenger or charge them under local law, but they can impose civil penalties of up to about $15,000, according to the TSA.
