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Police cited a Williamsburg woman after Transportation Security Administration officers at Richmond International Airport caught her with a handgun in her carry-on bag Oct. 11. The 9 mm handgun was loaded with six bullets.
It was the 17th time officials have stopped a weapon at a checkpoint at RIC this year and second in about a week, following 20 such occurrences last year and 22 in 2020.
TSA officers stopped the woman when her carry-on bag triggered an alarm in the security checkpoint X-ray unit. Upon spotting the weapon, TSA officials alerted airport police, who responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the handgun, and cited the woman on weapons violations.
“It is important for gun owners who have a concealed carry permit to understand that regardless of their having a permit, they still are forbidden from carrying their firearm onto a flight,” said Robin “Chuck” Burke, TSA’s federal security director for the airport. “The reason for the prohibition is because travelers should not have access to a gun during a flight. Simple as that. Hopefully, this will serve as a reminder to other gun owners not to place a firearm in their carry-on bag for their flight.”
TSA can issue civil penalties to travelers who have guns with them at a checkpoint. This penalty applies to travelers regardless of their concealed gun carry permit status. Members of TSA PreCheck who travel with a gun in carry-on baggage will lose that privilege. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online. https://www.tsa.gov/travel/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter. Firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided locked case, and packed separately from ammunition. Then the locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.
Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality and passengers should do their homework to make sure that they are not violating any local firearm laws. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.
TSA officers detected 5,972 firearms at airport security checkpoints nationwide in 2021. Eighty-six percent of those guns were loaded.
