TSA officers prevent New Jersey man from bringing loaded gun onto flight at Philadelphia International Airport

PHILADELPHIA – Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Philadelphia International Airport prevented a New Jersey man from bringing his handgun onto a flight on Friday, Feb. 10. The 9mm gun was unloaded, however the man’s carry-on bag also contained 14 bullets that were tucked into his carry-on bag near the firearm.

The gun was caught as the Willingboro, N.J. man entered the security checkpoint. The X-ray unit alerted on the carry-on bag, which was removed by the local police who confiscated the gun and arrested the man on weapons charges.  

In addition to the citation by airport police, he now faces a stiff financial civil penalty.  The penalty for carrying weapons recently increased to a maximum of $15,000.

“Our TSA team at Philadelphia perform their jobs extremely well,” said Gerardo Spero, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “When dangerous items such as guns are brought to a security checkpoint, it represents a serious safety concern. Individuals are not permitted to carry a firearm through a checkpoint—not someone with a concealed weapons permit, not someone who is enrolled in TSA PreCheck®, not an airport worker and not a traveler.”

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.

TSA firearms caught at TSA checkpoints at Philadelphia International Airport, 2017 to 2023

Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality and gun owners have a duty to ensure they are not violating any local firearm laws. Additionally, contacting the respective airline could reveal any additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.

Bringing a gun to an airport checkpoint carries a federal civil penalty because TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who have guns and gun parts with them at a checkpoint. Civil penalties for bringing a gun into a checkpoint can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending on mitigating circumstances. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because a concealed carry permit does not allow a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online. Additionally, if a traveler with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck®, that individual will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.

Last year, 6,542 firearms were caught at 262 out of 430 airport security checkpoints nationwide. Eighty-eight percent of those guns were loaded.

Unsure if an item should be packed in a carry-on bag, checked bag, either or neither? Download the free myTSA app, which has a handy “What can I bring?” feature that allows you to type in the item to find out if it can fly. Or ask on Twitter or Facebook Messenger at @AskTSA. Travelers may send a question by texting “Travel” to AskTSA (275-872).