HARRISBURG, Pa. — Transportation Security Administration officers stopped two people from boarding airplanes with loaded firearms in separate unrelated incidents at Harrisburg International Airport, the TSA said in a press release.
Both people were Cumberland County residents, according to the TSA.
In both instances, the TSA alerted Susquehanna Regional Airport Authority police, who sent officers to the security checkpoint to confiscate the handguns. Both individuals were cited on state weapons charges, the TSA said.
In the first incident, a Mechanicsburg man was stopped with a .38 caliber revolver loaded with five bullets that he had tucked into his laptop case, the TSA said.
In the second incident, a Wormleysburg woman was caught with a 9 mm handgun loaded with 12 bullets that she was carrying in her purse, according to the TSA.
It was the second and third gun-related incident at Harrisburg International Airport this month, the TSA said. On August 1, a Lancaster County woman was stopped at a security checkpoint when it was discovered she had a pink handgun in her possession, according to the TSA.
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage only if they are properly packaged and declared to the airline, the TSA said. To transport a firearm, it must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition. Then it needs to be taken to the airline check-in counter, according to the TSA.
Individuals who bring firearms to the checkpoint are subject to possible criminal charges from law enforcement the TSA said. Even travelers with concealed firearm permits are not allowed to bring guns onto airplanes in their carry-on bags.
A typical first offense for carrying a loaded handgun into a checkpoint is $4,100, but it can go as high as $13,669, depending on the circumstances, according to the TSA. The complete list of penalties is posted online.
