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The 9mm handgun seized from an Illinois traveler's carry-on bag on Thursday was loaded with 12 bullets, including one in the chamber, the TSA's Lisa Farbstein said on Friday, Nov. 18.
The firearm was the 13th found at Newark Airport checkpoints this year, more than the recent high of 12 last year.
Thursday's armed traveler was also toting a 9-inch hunting knife, Farbstein said.
"Both weapons were detected when the TSA officer who was staffing a checkpoint X-ray monitor spotted them via the checkpoint X-ray machine," she said. "TSA officials alerted Port Authority police, who confiscated the weapons and arrested [the traveler] on weapons charges."
Earlier this week, TSA officers nabbed an Indiana man with a disassembled gun at one of the Newark Airport checkpoints.
SEE: Disassembled Gun Found In Separate Carry-Ons At Newark Airport, TSA Says
Last year, the Transportation Security Administration reported picking off 5,972 guns at security checkpoints nationwide. Of those, 86% were loaded, the agency said.
They're prepared for much more in advance of Thanksgiving.
Friday "marks the start of the busiest travel period of the year, and travelers need to have a keen awareness of the contents of their carry-on bags to ensure that they do not have any prohibited items inside—especially firearms,” said Thomas Carter, the TSA's federal security director for New Jersey.
“It is a good idea to start with an empty bag when packing," Carter added, "because it’s not always easy to remember what you may have placed in your backpack, messenger bag or handbag two weeks ago.”
"Any prohibited item, from a firearm to an oversized liquid, that is detected in a carry-on bag slows down the checkpoint screening process for the travelers whose carry-on bags trigger an alarm for a prohibited item," the director said. "You do not want to be that person.”
A great many travelers have been in standstill lines that were triggered (no pun intended) by the discovery of an illegal weapon in someone’s carry-on. It’s no fun.
It’s not good for the person who's packin’, either.
SEE: 'I Forgot,' 'I Didn't Know': Guns, Excuses Piling Up At Newark Airport Checkpoints
In addition to criminal charges, there are the fines -- which can exceed $13,000 per violation.
This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits.
SEE: Civil Penalties For Trying To Carry A Gun Aboard A Plane
Passengers can travel with firearms in checked bags if they are properly packaged and declared at the airline ticket counter.
Guns 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.
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.
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