Transportation Security Administration officers stopped a Delaware County, PA man with a 9mm handgun loaded with 13 bullets -- including one in the chamber -- in his carry-on bag in Terminal C, the agency's Lisa Farbstein said.
The Newtown Square, PA resident was the third traveler nabbed with a gun at Newark just this month, Farbstein said.
The 22 overall for the year ties the record for the most in a month there with five weeks left in 2022, she said.
“Getting caught with and arrested for carrying a loaded gun at our airport means this individual had a pretty bad Thanksgiving,” said Thomas Carter, the TSA's federal security director for New Jersey. "Not only was this man arrested -- he also now faces a stiff federal financial civil penalty that could run into thousands of dollars.”
These can exceed $13,000 per violation and 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.
ALSO SEE: 'I Forgot,' 'I Didn't Know': Guns, Excuses Piling Up At Newark Airport Checkpoints
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