Items TSA Confiscates Most At US Airport Checkpoints

U.S. TSA officers screen about 3.3 million carry-on bags per day, but most items they flag are not formally seized. Instead, travelers usually surrender them at checkpoints as “voluntarily abandoned property” to avoid missing flights and returning to the ticket counter. TSA stopped collecting broader data on prohibited items beyond firearms and incendiaries in August 2008, so published figures are limited. In 2023, TSA detected 6,737 firearms at checkpoints—the only category with official counts. Accounts from TSA and officers consistently cite common surrender items such as water bottles, oversized toiletries and fragrances, knives, and tools. The most surrendered item is typically a full container of tap water, because many travelers arrive with bottles that violate the 3-1-1 liquids rule established in 2006.