A Florida man was being cited after Transportation Security Administration officers on Monday found a handgun and ammunition in his baggage at Pittsburgh International Airport.
It was the sixth gun officers have found at a checkpoint there so far in 2022.
Authorities said the gun was loaded and two additional loaded magazines were found through the X-ray machine. Allegheny County Police seized the firearm and cited the man, according to TSA.
His identity was not released.
Air travelers must leave firearms in checked baggage. Guns are required to be unloaded and locked in a hard-sided case separate from ammunition, according to TSA.
Anyone who is caught at a security checkpoint with a gun can face a civil penalty of up to $13,900.
The highest number of guns seized at the airport’s security checkpoints in the past five years came in 2019 with 35, according to TSA statistics. Last year, 32 were confiscated.
Nationwide, nearly 6,000 firearms were detected at security checkpoints in 2021. The majority of those found so far in 2022 have been loaded, officials said.
