A mother and son traveling together at Boston Logan International Airport tried to bring multiple knives through security on Monday afternoon, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
The pair surrendered the knives to Massachusetts State Police and were allowed to continue on their flight to Salt Lake City, Utah, a TSA spokesperson said in an email. MSP did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
The incident comes after a passenger attempted to bring a ninja knife set through security in their carry-on at Logan International Airport in May.
Knives – with the exception of plastic or round-bladed butter knives – are not allowed in carry-on bags, but travelers can pack them in checked luggage. “Any sharp objects in checked bags should be sheathed or securely wrapped to prevent injury to baggage handlers and inspectors,” the TSA said on its website.
Knives aren’t the only kind of weapons travelers have tried to take through security.
TSA firearm detections are on the rise:Here’s what we saw at one of the airports with the most cases
Firearm detections have risen in recent years. TSA officers found 6,542 firearms at airport security checkpoints across the country in 2022, an increase from 5,972 the year before, according to a news release from the agency. The numbers also mark a jump from 2019 – before the COVID-19 pandemic – when 4,432 were found.
Around 88% of guns detected last year were loaded.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
