Flights security

2015 Set To Be 6th Record Year Of TSA Seizures Of Firearms In Carry-On Bags

By the end of this year, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers will, for the 5th year, find a record number of handguns in passengers’ carry-on bags – many of which are loaded, and many with a round chambered. So far this year, TSA screeners have found more than 2,000 firearms.

The continued escalation of TSA hand gun seizures comes at a time when the threat of homegrown Islamist jihadists also is continuing to grow, and attacks on airliners continues to be a target of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in particular.

Last December,“Destination airport, and Guess What’s on the Menu?” was the title to the opening spread of the cover story about how to bomb passenger planes in the slick, professionally designed issue of Inspire magazine published by AQAP. Releasing the digital magazine on Christmas Eve was unlikely a coincidence; it was the 5th anniversary of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's Christmas Day 2009 bombing attempt on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 as it was on its landing approach to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.