Second man stopped by TSA this week with loaded handgun at Philadelphia International Airport

PHILADELPHIA – A Wyomissing, Pa., man became the second traveler caught with a loaded gun in his carry-on bag this week when Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Philadelphia International Airport stopped him with his .357 caliber gun loaded with five bullets on Wednesday, April 27.

Two days earlier, on Monday, April 25, a Wilmington, Del., resident was caught with a .22 caliber handgun that was also loaded with five bullets. The incidents were not related.

In each instance, when the TSA officers spotted the guns in the checkpoint X-ray machine, the police were alerted, confiscated the guns and detained the men for questioning before citing them. TSA forwarded the incidents to be followed up with the issuance of a federal financial civil penalty.

“Guns and security checkpoints don’t mix,” said Gerardo Spero, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “Bringing your gun to a security checkpoint is a costly mistake to make, and these individuals will now face a financial civil penalty from TSA.”

TSA reserves the right to issue a stiff civil penalty 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 into an airport or 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 can delay travelers from getting to their gates.

TSA firearms caught at PHL Airport checkpoints, 2017 to 2022

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 2022, about 86 percent were loaded.