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"He also claimed the gun didn't belong to him," TSA Spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said.
The firearm with a separate box containing five bullets triggered an alarm at a Transportation Security Administration X-ray unit on Wednesday, April 19, Farbstein said.
Port Authority police summoned to the checkpoint took the Liberty, NY, man into custody and seized the gun and ammo, she said Thursday.
“It is the busy spring travel season," said John Essig, TSA’s federal security director at the Queens airport. "When someone shows up with a firearm at the checkpoint, the conveyor belt is stopped until the police arrive and can remove the carry-on bag from the X-ray machine to safely secure the weapon.
"Bringing a loaded firearm to a security checkpoint not only slows down the individuals in that lane," Essig added. "It is also a security and safety concern. Guns should never be brought to the security checkpoint in carry-on luggage.”
It was the fourth firearm that TSA officers have detected at the airport’s checkpoints so far this year, Farbstein said. They nabbed seven in all of 2022, she noted.
Besides possible criminal prosecution, attempts to carry guns aboard commercial flights can bring fines of up to $15,000 per violation, the TSA warns. 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.
SEE: 'I Forgot,' 'I Didn't Know': Guns, Excuses Piling Up At Newark Airport Checkpoints
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