Loaded, pink handgun confiscated at Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoint
Yet another firearm has been confiscated at Pittsburgh International Airport, making it the fourth confiscated by TSA officers at the airport so far this year.
On Wednesday, TSA officers intercepted a pink, .380 caliber handgun that was loaded with six bullets. The woman who had the gun said she forgot it was on her person.
"This is an instance in which the traveler told us that she typically has the firearm with her on any given day and that she forgot to remove it from her carry-on before heading to the airport," explained Gerardo Spero, TSA's Federal Security Director for Pennsylvania. "If you own a firearm, you need to know where it is at all times. That's an important part of being a responsible gun owner. Now this individual faces a stiff federal financial penalty."
Civil penalties for bringing a gun to an airport checkpoint can reach up to $15,000 depending upon the specific weapon and the circumstance. Those penalties also apply to people with or without a concealed carry permit as that permit does not allow for loaded weapons to be brought onto a plane.
TSA is reminding travelers that the proper way to travel with a firearm is to make sure it is unloaded and packed in a locked, hard-sided case, and it has to be taken to the check-in counter and declared.
Last year, officers confiscated 42 firearms at the Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoints, the most of any airport in Pennsylvania, and in 2023, 44 were confiscated, a record-high.
