TSA officers at ELP airport stopped a traveler from bringing this gun and ammunition onto a plane earlier this year. (TSA photo)
EL PASO, TX --Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials are concerned about the frequency that they are seeing travelers carry handguns to security checkpoints at El Paso International Airport (ELP). Most of those guns are found to be loaded.
“The most common excuse we hear is that someone forgot that they had their gun with them,” said Jared Babin, TSA’s Federal Security Director for ELP. “Although plausible, if you own a firearm, you need to know where it is at all times. It’s part of being a responsible gun owner.”
The TSA team at West Texas airport detected 25 guns at the security checkpoints in 2021. TSA officers at El Paso airport have stopped 22 guns, so far in 2022.
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter. Firearms must be unloaded, placed in a hard-sided locked case, and packed separately from ammunition. Then the locked case must 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.
TSA firearms catches at El Paso airport checkpoints 2018 to 2022
|
Year |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 As of 8/30/22 |
|
Total |
8 |
17 |
12 |
25 |
22 |
“As we approach a busy holiday travel weekend and we would like everyone to have the best experience possible when traveling through our airport. We encourage the traveling public to take just a few minutes to give your baggage a second look before you come to the airport to save you the stress and expense of packing incorrectly,” said Sam Rodriguez, Director of Aviation at El Paso International Airport.
TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers 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. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online. If a traveler with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck®, that individual will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.
“The penalties are stiff for carrying a gun to a checkpoint,” Babel said. “You could face criminal penalties on top of federal civil citations that can be extremely costly. My advice is to not make the mistake of bringing your gun to the checkpoint in the first place. We’re happy to help properly transport your firearm in checked luggage.”
Travelers are responsible for the contents of bags and TSA recommends that travelers go through their carry-on and checked bags before they head to the airport to ensure that they have no illegal or prohibited items inside. Carrying a gun to an airport checkpoint carries a federal civil penalty that can be up to $14,000 dollars. Even if someone has a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane.
Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality and passengers should do their homework to make sure that they are not violating any local firearm laws. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.
Nationwide, TSA officers detected 5,972 guns at airport security checkpoints last year. Eighty-six percent of those guns were loaded.