U.S. Attorneys, Pa. Sheriffs' Association: Firearms must be checked properly at the airport

As more travelers are expected to head to the nation’s airports over the holiday season, the last thing any of them want is an additional delay.

And the last thing airport security officers want is for that delay to happen due to the discovery of a gun in a passenger’s carry-on luggage.

Transportation Security Administration officers in Pennsylvania are on pace to seize a record number of firearms at airport security checkpoints in 2021 in spite of greatly reduced air traffic due to the pandemic, according the U.S. Department of Justice.

As of Nov. 18, 32 guns had been caught at Pittsburgh International’s security checkpoints this year. That’s 11 more than the number discovered in all of 2020, when there were fewer travelers because of the covid pandemic, and only three short of tying the record 35 caught in 2019, according to the TSA.

At Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity, TSA officials have found six handguns so far this year.

Justice officials said most of the weapons seized are also loaded — as was the weapon discovered Nov. 4 at Arnold Palmer Regional. And while many belong to concealed-carry permit holders, federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania reminded residents that the permit does not allow someone to bring a gun aboard a plane.

“By partnering with the Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association to increase awareness and education regarding safe firearm transportation, we aim to reduce the number of firearms seized at airport security checkpoints. At the same time, to protect the traveling public and TSA employees, we will pursue all options including prosecution and referral of concealed carry permit holders to the appropriate sheriff,” according to a joint statement issued Monday by U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and acting U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman of the Western District of Pennsylvania.

In October, Kaufman began employing a deterrent strategy to try and reduce the incidents, adding potential revocation of concealed-carry permits due to negligence on top of the possible civil penalties or criminal charges that can result from bringing a weapon in a carry-on bag.

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter. Firearms 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.

With the number of airline passengers expected to surge in the next six weeks, U.S. Attorneys and the Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association are partnering to spread the word and remind gun owners of the responsibility that comes with a license to carry.

“We encourage all gun owners to double- and triple-check your carry-on luggage to make sure you have not forgotten to remove any weapons,” said Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association president and Schuylkill County Sheriff Joseph Groody.

County sheriffs throughout Pennsylvania have agreed to provide permit holders with information about safe firearm transport and to review referrals from federal authorities for possible revocation of concealed-carry permits.

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition