2 guns caught in 2 days at Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoints

Security officers stopped two guns in two days this week at Pittsburgh International Airport security checkpoints, a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman said Thursday.

The first incident happened Wednesday when officers spotted a loaded .357-caliber handgun in a Munhall man’s carry-on baggage, said spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein.

Then, around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, officers stopped a Michigan man with a loaded .380-caliber handgun, Allegheny County police reported.

Authorities said in both instances, the travelers had valid concealed carry permits, so no criminal charges were filed.

“There is not a single good excuse for bringing a loaded gun to a security checkpoint,” said Karen Keys-Turner, security director for the airport. “Responsible gun owners know where their firearm is at all times and they know that the only way to fly with their gun is to pack it correctly and declare it to the airline so it can fly in the belly of the plane, never in the cabin of the aircraft. If you try to bring it through a checkpoint, you’ll pay the consequences.”

Consequences include federal fines of up to $13,000.

To combat an increase in guns being caught at Pittsburgh International, federal officials announced last year they would request the sheriff in a traveler’s home county to rescind the traveler’s concealed carry permit if that person was caught with a gun at the airport.

In 2021, officers stopped 21 travelers with guns at the airport – the same number of firearms stopped in 2017 despite a pandemic-driven decline in air travel. The Allegheny County Airport Authority said roughly 2.5 million fewer travelers passed through the airport in 2021 compared to 2017.

The guns stopped at checkpoints this week represent the fourth and fifth so far in 2022.