Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers stopped a Palmerton man from passing through Lehigh Valley International Airport security with a gun on Saturday. The weapon was confiscated and the man was removed and cited on a criminal charge.
The gun was loaded when it was found. Gerardo Spero, TSA’s Federal Security Director of Pennsylvania, says that while firearms can be taken on flights, they must be packed according to a specific procedure. Attempting to pass through a security checkpoint with a loaded gun is against that procedure.
Penalties for bringing a weapon to an airport checkpoint can equal fines up to $15,000. Concealed gun carry permits do not allow a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. TSA PreCheck members will lose their program privileges if they bring a gun to a checkpoint.
Another man from Myerstown was cited by police in late February after he was found with a gun at LVIA. He was not ticketed to board any flights, but was given a gate pass to perform as a musician in the secure area of the terminal. After removing the required items and putting them in a bin on the checkpoint conveyor belt, the man realized he had forgotten to remove a loaded handgun from his pocket, but was unable to remove it because he had already begun the screening process.
Spero emphasizes that being a responsible gun owner means knowing where your firearm is at all times.
In 2024, TSA officers intercepted three firearms at LVIA checkpoints out of the almost 6,700 that were intercepted nationwide. According to the TSA, around 94% of these firearms were loaded. This was the first year since 2020 that the number of confiscated firearms went down nationally.
