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3-2 Prohibited Items Intercepted at U.S. Airport Screening Checkpoints: 2005-2008

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

3-2 Prohibited Items Intercepted at U.S. Airport Screening Checkpoints: 2005-2008

Excel | CSV

Items 2005 2006 2007 2008
Knivesa 1,822,752 1,607,125 1,056,687 626,182
Incendiaries and explosive/flammable materials 398,830 113,700 89,623 116,200
Other cutting instrumentsa 3,276,691 163,419 101,387 59,459
Clubsa 20,531 12,296 9,443 6,447
Box cuttersa 21,315 15,999 11,908 6,284
Firearms 2,217 2,075 1,416 902
Othera 10,345,260 11,797,145 5,245,558 157,336
Total prohibited items 15,887,596 13,711,759 6,516,022 972,810

a 2008 consists of data up to August 8, 2008 with the exception of Firearms and Incendiaries. TSA has stopped the collection of data on all prohibited items except for Firearms and Incendiaries as of August 8, 2008.

Notes: Other cutting instruments include scissors, hatchets, swords, sabers, meat cleavers, ice axes, and picks. Effective Dec. 22, 2005, scissors less than 4 inches and tools less than 7 inches were no longer prohibited. Knives include any length and type except round-bladed, butter, and plastic cutlery.Clubs includes martial arts items, baseball bats, night sticks, hammers, pool cues, and billy clubs. Firearms includes any weapon (including a starter gun) that is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive, as well as spear guns, BB guns, flare pistols, compressed air guns, and stunning devices. Other refers to tools, self-defense items, compressed gas cylinders, bleach, lighters, and certain sporting goods. Lighters (except for torch lighters and micro torches) were removed from the prohibited items list effective August 4, 2007.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, personal communication, October 2009 as reported in USDOT, RITA, BTS, National Transportation Statistics, table 2-16b, available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of January 2010.