The penalties for attempting to bring a firearm through an airport checkpoint start at about $2,500 for an unloaded weapon and range up to $10,000 for a loaded weapon. Oh, and you will almost certainly miss your flight while all this is being sorted out.

The Transportation Security Administration has discovered 4,650 firearms at checkpoints in the first 10 months of this year — 80% of which were loaded (another unsettling thought). That total already surpasses the full-year record of 4,432 guns set in 2019, and we’ve still got many weeks of travel left in 2021.

More guns are out there because virtually all states have concealed carry permit options for residents. We have long supported that practice for Texans, though we aren’t so enthusiastic about permitless carry, approved by the Legislature this year.

One thing that people learn in concealed carry classes is basic facts about how to handle and carry their weapon, valuable tips that many gun owners don’t know unless they’ve been raised with firearms or served in the military. Not bringing a gun to an airport would be one of those helpful reminders.

The good news in this story is that TSA officials rarely encounter repeat offenders for this offense. The ordeal of getting caught once is enough for almost every traveler.

That’s encouraging, but it would be even better if passengers thought about this beforehand and left their gun at home. Experts advice packing light anyway. One thing you do not need is a hunk of metal that shouldn’t be there in the first place.