Man cited for trying to carry antique pistol onto plane at international airport
A live TV news station covering breaking news and traffic for Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and Southern Colorado with a strong investigative team A man from Central Pennsylvania was cited for attempting to carry an antique revolver onto a plane at Philadelphia International Airport. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) found the gun in his carry-on luggage, which was not loaded. The man, who told security officers it was a gift from his dad, could face a financial penalty of up to $15,000 for bringing a gun into a TSA security checkpoint. This marks the 15th firearm caught at PHL checkpoints this year. In all of 2023, agents caught 45 firearms at the airport, a record for the most guns caught at Philadelphia's security checkpoints in a single year. The number of guns recovered at PHS increased between 2019 and 2022, with experts attributing this increase to increased travel and gun ownership.
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PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (KYW) — A man from Central Pennsylvania was cited at Philadelphia International Airport over the weekend after Transportation Security Administration officials found an antique revolver in his carry-on luggage.
TSA said the revolver, which wasn’t loaded, was detected among the Middletown resident’s clothing on June 9. The man reportedly told security officers the antique firearm was a gift from his dad.
“This individual learned a hard lesson about the proper way to transport a firearm for a flight,” Gerardo Spero, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport, said in a statement. “You just don’t toss a firearm into a carry-on bag along with your clothes, even if it is unloaded. Now, in addition to being charged with a criminal citation by the police, the man also faces a stiff financial civil penalty for bringing a gun to a TSA security checkpoint.”
According to the TSA, the financial penalty for carrying a weapon into the airport can be as high as $15,000.
The confiscation marks the 15th firearm caught at PHL checkpoints so far this year. In all of 2023, TSA agents caught 45 firearms at the airport, a new record for the most guns caught at Philadelphia’s security checkpoints in a single year.
Data from the TSA shows the number of guns recovered at PHL was on a steady decline between 2017 and 2019. Then between 2019 and 2022, the number of guns confiscated at the airport increased by about five each year.
Airport security experts attributed the uptick to a combination of more people traveling and more people opting to own a gun.
Across eight Pennsylvania airports, agents confiscated a total of 103 guns in 2023, a serious uptick in confiscations from the 82 taken in 2022.
In order to travel with a firearm or ammunition, fliers need to store unloaded guns in a locked, hard-sided container. Firearms can only be transported as checked luggage, and need to be declared at the airline ticket counter. More information on how to travel with a firearm can be found on the TSA’s website.
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