I think that depended on the time and the airport. Ammunition was certainly available, but I think that for most time loaded magazines were not in the rifles.
correct, the rifle magazines were unloaded. If the soldier’s were MPs the pistol mags had bullets in them. an M16 is not the weapon you want to set off in a confined area with innocents down range of a tango. I was in the 1149th MP company 1998 to 2002 so take that to mean I had personal experience in this matter.