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On Jan. 22, a woman from Philadelphia attempted to bring a gun loaded with six bullets onto a plane, the Transportation Security Administration said.
The loaded .380 caliber handgun, which was tucked in her handbag, was discovered by TSA officers in the checkpoint X-ray machine, officials said.
Police confiscated the gun, and the woman is expected to face a federal financial civil penalty, according to the TSA.
On Jan. 25, a man from Montgomery County was stopped after TSA officers detected an unloaded .380 caliber handgun in his carry-on bag, officials said.
The Harleysville resident was also cited by police.
“Travelers who own handguns need to take a little extra time when packing for a flight to make sure that they have not packed a gun or ammunition in any of their carry-on bags,” said Gerardo Spero, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport.
“The right way to transport your gun is to pack the unloaded firearm in a locked hard-sided case, place it in your checked baggage and declare it at the check-in counter so that the airline can place it in the belly of the plane where nobody has access to it during a flight. These individuals now face a stiff federal civil penalty that could cost them thousands of dollars.”
TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty of up to $13,900 to individuals who bring weapons with them to a checkpoint, its website says.
"Civil penalties for bringing a handgun into a checkpoint can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending on mitigating or aggravating circumstances. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits."
Nationwide, TSA officers found 5,972 firearms on passengers or their carry-on bags at checkpoints in 2021. Of the guns caught by TSA in 2022, about 86 percent were loaded, the administration said.
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