TSA says it confiscated a record number of firearms in US airports earlier this month

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has broken a record for the most weapons confiscated at US airports in one week.

During the week of 5 to 11 February the agency found 104 firearms in the carry-on luggage of air passengers.

A week in July 2017 saw a previous record of 96 weapons confiscated.

The majority of the firearms - 87 of the 104 - were found to be loaded with ammunition, 38 of those had a round in the chamber.

Only 17 of the confiscated firearms were found to be unloaded.

The TSA does allow passengers to travel with firearms, but the regulation stipulates the weapon must be unloaded and placed in checked luggage only. The agency can impose fines of more than $13,000 on violators.

Passengers are also expected to announce that their checked luggage contains the unloaded firearm at the time of check-in.

The only exceptions to the rule are for federal agents or other police officials travelling on professional business, who are allowed to carry a firearm onto an plane as long as TSA is notified.

In 2017, the TSA reported it confiscated almost 4,000 firearms - the most since it began tracking the data in 2005.

Of that figure, 84 per cent were found to be loaded and came from more than half of the 440 of the country’s federalised airports.

These figures do not include the number of items taken that could possibly be used as weapons.

The majority of passengers came from locations around the US where carrying a concealed weapon in public is legal.

The country’s busiest airport, Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International in the state of Georgia, Dallas-Fort Worth, Dallas-Love Field, and Houston airports in Texas, Denver airport in Colorado, and Tampa and Orlando’s airports in Florida were the top offenders in 2017.

All states have similar open or concealed carry policies. Passengers in Atlanta are allowed to carry firearms in public areas of the airport.

The announcement by TSA comes amid the re-ignited debate on gun control reform after the 14 February mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz allegedly used an assault-style AR-15 rifle to kill 14 children and three adults as classes were being dismissed for the day.