Second traveller in three days caught with loaded gun at US airport

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Air Transport Airport Airports Security TSA United States

A woman was stopped by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Pittsburgh International Airport in the United States this week when they detected a loaded .380 caliber handgun in the woman’s backpack – the second gun caught within three days after a revolver also was removed from a traveller’s carry-on bag.

Federal penalties for bringing weapons to the checkpoint can run as high as $15,000, depending on the circumstances.

“The high number of travellers who are bringing their loaded guns to our security checkpoints needs to stop. There is absolutely no excuse for bringing a firearm to one of our checkpoints,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s federal security director for the airport.

“Travellers are responsible for the items that they have in their possession. guns should never be brought to the security checkpoint in carry-on luggage. Responsible gun owners know this,” she said.

TSA rules for travelling with a gun

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are unloaded and packed in a hard-sided locked case.

Then the locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared.

TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.

Firearms are not permitted through a security checkpoint because passengers should not have access to a firearm during a flight. This even applies to travelers with concealed carry permits or are enrolled in the TSA PreCheck programme.

Individuals who bring their gun to a security checkpoint also face a federal financial civil penalty.

Last year, 6,542 firearms were caught at 262 out of 430 airport security checkpoints nationwide. Eighty-eight percent were loaded. So far this year, TSA has stopped more than 4,000 guns at security checkpoints across the US.
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