STATEWIDE — TSA officials offer some serious advice to airport travelers: Leave your gun at home.

Or at least check it.

Security officers on Thursday caught incidents of passengers with guns at security checkpoints in five Florida airports, including Orlando International Airport and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said Friday.

The other incidents happened at Jacksonville International Airport, Miami International Airport, and Fort-Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, TSA said.

But officials suspect nothing nefarious — merely forgetfulness.

“One of the main factors is people are stressed on more levels since the pandemic began, and they are not focusing on what is inside their bags before they head for a flight,” TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz told Spectrum News in an email.

It’s happening more often, especially on a percentage basis, Koshetz said. Thursday’s incident at St. Pete-Clearwater International marked the ninth this year there compared with two cases during the same period last year, TSA said. Miami International Airport has seen 39 such incidents this year, compared with 32 during the same period last year.

Compared with the same period last year, TSA said such incidents are down at Orlando International (61 this year vs. 69 last year), Tampa International (51 vs. 57), Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (56 vs. 74), and Jacksonville International (23 vs. 31). But at the Orlando, Miami, St. Pete-Clearwater, and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airports, the proportion of guns to passengers has increased, TSA said.

The agency pointed out in a news release: “Across the state — and across the nation — passenger volumes are vastly lower at all airports this year.”

Passengers who bring a firearm to a TSA security checkpoint receive a civil penalty up to $13,669, TSA said. It added that, “Passengers are responsible for knowing what the laws are on each side of their trip.”

Orlando International Airport spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell agreed it appears that passengers are forgetting that they’re toting their guns.

“It isn’t necessarily a criminal attempt,” she said. In many reported cases, Fennell said, “they have their bags on a trip in the back of the car. They grab the bag, going on this air trip, and they had left their gun in it.”

Any guns taken on planes must be tagged and checked, she said. They must be unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container, TSA said. Also, officials remind gun owners that laws on firearms possession vary by local, state and international governments.

The Orlando airport posts signs in the elevator lobby and above the security screening area that tell passengers that they can’t take their guns through the screening process, Fennell said.

Regarding Orlando International’s incidents of guns detected at checkpoints, she said: “Ninety-five percent of our passengers go through the checkpoints, as opposed to Chicago and Atlanta, where a number of their passengers are connecting. That in itself means we have more people being screened to a certain extent, and it means they’re coming from home or their cars, and many times say they had forgotten because they had their bag on a trip or a road trip.”

The TSA’s Koshetz advises travelers to empty all bags, including purses and computer bags, before they pack for their next trip. That includes opening all zippered compartments, where security officers sometimes find guns.

“Safety and security is No. 1,” according to Michele Routh, public relations director at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. “So it’s important for all people to know what the rules are.”