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It also makes the fifth straight year that Newark Airport had more checkpoint gun seizures than its regional counterparts.
The 14 firearms discovered at Newark security checkpoints in 2022 tie a recent high from 2018, Transportation Security Administration statistics show. LaGuardia had 11 and JFK had seven.
Overall, the 39 handguns stopped at New York City regional airports last year were 50% more than the 26 seized in 2021, the TSA reported.
JFK was the only regional airport to see a decrease, while LaGuardia recorded its highest number ever, the TSA's Lisa Farbstein said in releasing the figures on Tuesday, Jan. 17.
"Each of the firearms was discovered by TSA officers during the routine screening of carry-on property at airport security checkpoints," Farbstein said.
Nationwide, the effect of COVID was brought into sharp relief.
Last year, TSA officers picked off 6,542 guns at airport security checkpoints across the nation, the agency reported. That's up from 5,972 found in 2021 and significantly more than the 3,257 from the pandemic year of 2020.
A total of 88% of the guns seized at 262 airport checkpoints nationwide were loaded, according to TSA figures.
Besides possible criminal prosecution, attempts to carry guns aboard commercial flights can bring fines exceeding $13,000 per violation. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits.
SEE: Civil Penalties For Trying To Carry A Gun Aboard A Plane
Passengers can travel with firearms in checked bags if they are properly packaged and declared at the airline ticket counter.
Guns must be unloaded, placed in a hard-sided locked case and packed separately from ammunition. Then the locked case must be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared.
SEE: TSA Guidelines For Properly Traveling With A Firearm
Small arms ammunition (up to .75 caliber and shotgun shells of any gauge) must be packaged in a fiber (such as cardboard), wood, plastic, or metal box specifically designed to carry ammunition and declared to your airline.
Ammunition may be transported in the same hard-sided, locked case as a firearm if it has been packed as described above.
Travelers cannot use firearm magazines or clips for packing ammunition unless they completely enclose the ammunition. Travelers should check with their airline for ammo quantity limits.
SEE: 'I Forgot,' 'I Didn't Know': Guns, Excuses Piling Up At Newark Airport Checkpoints
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