48°
The two passengers from New York were each stopped trying to bring loaded 9mm handguns onto flights at Newark Airport on back-to-back days, authorities said.
Both now face hefty fines.
The incidents at security checkpoints in Terminal B involved a Brooklyn traveler on Wednesday, May 3, and another from Garnerville on Thursday, Transportation Security Administration Spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said.
The incidents weren't related, she said.
"In each instance when a TSA officer spotted the guns in the checkpoint X-ray machine, Port Authority Police were alerted, came to the checkpoint and removed the firearms from the X-ray machine," Farbstein said.
They also took the carriers into custody.
"When an individual shows up at a checkpoint with a firearm, the checkpoint lane comes to a standstill until the police resolve the incident," Farbstein said. "All remaining travelers are shifted to another lane, thus delaying them from passing through the checkpoint."
The penalty for bringing a weapon to a TSA checkpoint can reach $15,000, depending on the circumstances.
This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits, Farbstein noted.
SEE: Civil Penalties For Trying To Carry A Gun Aboard A Plane
"The proper way to transport a firearm for a flight is to ensure it is unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided case and taken to the airline counter to be declared and transported in the belly of the aircraft so that nobody has access to it during a flight," Farbstein said.
SEE: TSA Guidelines For Properly Traveling With A Firearm
Small arms ammunition (up to .75 caliber and shotgun shells of any gauge) must be packaged in a fiber (such as cardboard), wood, plastic, or metal box specifically designed to carry ammunition and declared to your airline.
Ammunition may be transported in the same hard-sided, locked case as a firearm if it has been packed as described above.
Travelers cannot use firearm magazines or clips for packing ammunition unless they completely enclose the ammunition. Travelers should check with their airline for ammo quantity limits.
SEE: 'I Forgot,' 'I Didn't Know': Guns, Excuses Piling Up At Newark Airport Checkpoints
Click here to follow Daily Voice Egg Harbor Township and receive free news updates.
