TSA launches 'Prohibitive Items Week' to prevent travel troubles

PHOENIX - The TSA is doing something for the first time this week to prevent passengers from getting in trouble by launching Prohibitive Items Week to alert you to what you can and can’t bring on a plane.

While learning of the prohibited items, alarming information about loaded guns at airports was uncovered.

TSA says they’re uncovering the same amount of loaded guns from baggage this year as they usually do, and here’s why that’s a problem.

Passenger numbers have plummeted since March, so one would assume the number would go down.

"It’s always amazing to me when I see the things people try to sneak or how often people forget they have something. Guns are a great example," says Patricia Mancha, spokesperson for TSA Arizona.

In 2019, Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport recovered the fifth-highest amount of firearms in the country. In 2020, the trend continues.

"We have seen an uptick of people bringing guns to airports all over the country although we have seen a reduction in travelers," Mancha said.

There’s been a 51% drop in passengers in Phoenix this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

TSA officers recovered 74 firearms at Sky Harbor so far this year, which is on track to match 2019’s total of 132.

It’s not just guns, either. BB guns and pellet guns that look just like the real thing.

Concealment of knives have changed over the years, too. "People are getting a little creative when it comes to those things," Mancha said. For example, belt knives, cane weapons, brush shives.

The TSA says you can travel with a gun, but it has to be in a case, in checked baggage and the airline must be told about it.

There are some other interesting questions that aren’t as clear cut, such as guacamole. Oddly, you can only have 3.5 ounces of it.

Check out TSA's website for a list of things that can and can't travel with you, or the restrictions on items.