TSA officers prevented a Pittsburgh, Pa., woman from carrying this handgun through the security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport on March 18. (TSA photo)
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) prevented two Pennsylvania residents from bringing their handguns through the security checkpoint on Friday, March 17, and Saturday, March 18.
A woman who works at the airport was caught with a 9mm handgun loaded with 10 bullets, including one in the chamber, on Saturday. The Pittsburgh resident had her airport employee ID confiscated.
The previous day, TSA officers stopped a man from Munhall, Pa., from carrying his loaded 9mm handgun onto his flight. Allegheny County Police Department arrested the man on a weapons charge.
“Guns are not permitted through any airport security checkpoint,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “It does not matter if you are coming through a checkpoint to catch a flight or to get to your job working in the airport, under no circumstances should someone be bringing a firearm to our security checkpoints. In all instances it will result in a serious conversation with the police, possible criminal charges and a hefty federal financial civil penalty that could cost into the thousands of dollars.”
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are unloaded and packed in a hard-sided locked case. Then 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.
In addition to the citation by airport police, individuals who bring firearms to TSA checkpoints also face a stiff financial civil penalty. Penalties for carrying a weapons were recently increased to a maximum of $15,000.
Firearms are not permitted through a security checkpoint because passengers should not have access to a firearm during a flight. This even applies to travelers with concealed carry permits or are enrolled in the TSA PreCheck® program, who will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges if they bring a gun to a checkpoint. Individuals who bring their gun to a security checkpoint also face a federal financial civil penalty.
Last year, 6,542 firearms were caught at 262 out of 430 airport security checkpoints nationwide. Eighty-eight percent of those guns were loaded.
TSA firearms catches at airport checkpoints at Pittsburgh International Airport, 2017 to 2023
|
Year |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 (as of 3/19/23) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Pittsburgh International Airport |
32 |
34 |
35 |
21 |
32 |
26 |
3 |
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 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. Additionally, if a traveler with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck®, that individual will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.
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.
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).