Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers were on high alert throughout the busy Independence Day holiday as travelers continued to bring firearms and ammunition to airport checkpoints. TSA officers screened 2,884,683 travelers across the country on June 30, marking the highest checkpoint volume since TSA’s inception.
Guns are not permitted through the security checkpoint and those who ignore this rule face arrest as well as a stiff financial civil penalty from TSA. The penalty for carrying weapons can reach a maximum of $15,000.
Officers with TSA at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) stopped a male traveler from bringing a loaded firearm onto an aircraft on June 29. The firearm was discovered during routine X-ray screening of carry-on luggage at the airport’s security checkpoint. The firearm find occurred around noon at SBA when a TSA officer spotted the image of a handgun on the X-ray screen. TSA notified officers with the Santa Barbara Airport Patrol who responded to the security checkpoint and removed the firearm from the X-ray tunnel. The passenger, who was ticketed for travel to Denver International, was escorted out of the security checkpoint by law enforcement. The firearm – a loaded 9 mm Smith & Wesson – was in the carry-on bag along with a magazine loaded with 11 rounds of ammunition and an additional magazine with 10 rounds of ammunition located in the carry-on. This is the third firearm discovered in carry-on luggage at SBA so far this year. In all of 2022, TSA officers discovered two firearms at SBA at the security checkpoint.
June 30, which broke records for being the busiest day in history at TSA airport checkpoints, saw firearms detected at a number of airports across the country. These included a 9mm handgun in a Florida man’s carry-on bag at Harrisburg International Airport. The gun was caught by TSA officers as the man entered the security checkpoint. The X-ray unit alerted the TSA officer to take a closer look inside the man’s carry-on bag, which was opened by police for a closer inspection. Local police cited the man on a weapons charge.
“We are in the midst of one of the busiest travel periods of the year and this is no time to be carrying a loaded gun to our checkpoints,” said Karen Keys-Turner, Harrisburg International’s TSA Federal Security Director. “Airports are congested, people are eager to travel for the July 4th holiday and toting a loaded gun in such an environment is an accident waiting to happen. Gun owners have a responsibility to know where their firearms are at all times and know that they should not be in a carry-on bag,” Keys-Turner added. “Travelers need to come to the airport prepared to go through the security screening process and that means knowing the contents of their carry-on bags and knowing that there are no prohibited items inside.”
A Lima, Ohio, man was prevented from bringing his loaded handgun onto his flight on Friday, June 30, when TSA officers at Pittsburgh International Airport detected the handgun in the man’s carry-on backpack. When the TSA officer spotted the 9mm gun in the checkpoint X-ray machine, airport police were alerted, came to the checkpoint and confiscated the weapon before arresting him.
The same day, TSA officers at Newark Liberty International Airport prevented a traveler from bringing a loaded handgun onto his flight, on what was a record-setting day at the airport as well as nationally. TSA officers screened 83,041 passengers at Newark Liberty International Airport on June 30, but they remained vigilant throughout. When the TSA officer at Newark spotted the handgun in the checkpoint X-ray machine, Port Authority Police were alerted, came to the Terminal B checkpoint, confiscated the gun and interviewed the traveler, a resident of Woodbridge, N.J., before arresting him on a weapons charge. The firearm was loaded with seven bullets.
On July 1, a woman was cited by police after TSA officers at West Virginia International Yeager Airport stopped the woman with a loaded handgun at the security checkpoint The .380 caliber handgun was loaded with seven bullets, including one in the chamber. When the TSA officer spotted the gun in the checkpoint X-ray machine, airport police were alerted, came to the checkpoint and confiscated the weapon from the traveler. Police also cited the woman on a weapons charge.
“Friday was the busiest day in TSA history with nearly 2.9 million travelers coming through our security checkpoints nationwide,” said John C. Allen, TSA’s Federal Security Director for West Virginia. “It’s a busy summer and is no time to be bringing guns and other prohibited items in your carry-on bags because doing so slows down our checkpoints. When an individual shows up at a checkpoint with a firearm, the checkpoint lane comes to a standstill until the police resolve the incident. Responsible gun owners know where their firearms are and they know that they are not permitted to be carried onto a flight,” he said.
On Independence Day itself, a man was arrested by police at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) after TSA officers detected a loaded handgun in his carry-on bag as he entered a security checkpoint. The 9mm handgun was loaded with 10 bullets. TSA immediately notified Port Authority Police who confiscated the firearm and arrested the Florida man, on weapons charges. It was the seventh firearm that TSA officers have detected at the airport’s checkpoints so far this year. It ties the number caught during all 12 months in 2022. It was also the second gun that TSA officers have caught within a week. On June 29 they stopped a man who worked at the airport with a gun in his backpack. He also was arrested.
Passengers are only permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage. Firearms must be unloaded then packed in a hard-sided locked case. 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.
