(Photos provided with release)
Story by Beaver County Radio Staff
(Pittsburgh Pa.) Two men were arrested by the TSA late last week after officers found them with loaded handguns in their carry-on bags at a checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport.
The TSA said via release that a Pittsburgh man had a loaded .380 caliber handgun on Friday and a Colorado man had a 9mm gun that was loaded with seven bullets, including one in the chamber on Saturday
Both of the men were arrested on weapons charges.
TSA’s Federal Security Director for the Pittsburgh Airport Karen Keys-Turner said via release that .“Responsible gun owners know where their guns are at all times and they know that they are not permitted to carry them onto a flight. If you want to travel with your firearm all someone has to do is pack it properly and be sure to bring along your carry permit, if you have one. Now these travelers face a stiff financial civil penalty in addition to having to deal with their arrest.”
Guns detected at Pittsburgh International Airport security checkpoints, 2017 to 2022
| Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022
(As of 10/16/22) |
| Guns caught at Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoints |
32 | 34 | 35 | 21 | 32 | 20 |
TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty of up to $13,900 to individuals who bring weapons with them to a checkpoint. Civil penalties for bringing a handgun into a checkpoint can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending on mitigating or aggravating circumstances. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. If a traveler with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck®, that individual will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.
Travelers are allowed to transport their firearms as checked baggage if they are properly packed and declared at their airline ticket counter to be transported in the belly of the plane with checked baggage. Checked firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality and travelers should check into firearm laws before they decide to travel with their guns. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.
When an individual shows up at a checkpoint with a firearm, the checkpoint lane comes to a standstill until the police resolve the incident. Guns at checkpoints delay travelers from getting to their gates.
Nationwide, TSA officers detected 5,972 firearms on passengers or their carry-on bags at checkpoints last year. Of the guns caught by TSA in 2021, about 86 percent were loaded.