Richmond woman stopped by TSA with loaded gun at Richmond International Airport

Transportation Security Administration officers at Richmond International Airport prevented a Richmond woman from carrying her .380 caliber handgun loaded with eight bullets onto her flight Oct. 19. The gun was detected in the x-ray machine among the traveler’s carry-on items at the security checkpoint.

TSA alerted police, who responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the handgun and arrested the woman on a weapons charge. In addition to being arrested by the police, she also faces a stiff federal financial civil penalty for bringing a loaded gun to an airport security checkpoint.

It was the 15th time so far this year that a gun had been stopped at a checkpoint at RIC, following 22 such occurrences last year and 14 each of the previous two years.

TSA has the right to issue civil penalties to travelers who have guns and gun parts with them at a checkpoint. Civil penalties for bringing a handgun into a checkpoint can stretch to thousands of dollars, depending upon the circumstances. Penalties apply to people with or without concealed gun carry permits, because those permits do not allow firearms to be brought onto planes.

A complete list of civil penalties is posted online.

TSA PreCheck members who incur the penalties also will lose their PreCheck privileges.

TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website. Travelers also should contact their airlines, which may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.