TSA To Pgh. Airport Travelers: Stop Bringing Guns To Checkpoints

MOON TOWNSHIP, PA — With a record-setting number of guns confiscated at Pittsburgh International Airport already this year, the Transportation Security Administration has simple advice for those attempting to get their weapons through security checkpoints.

Don't do it.

The TSA has seized 39 guns thus far this year at the checkpoints,which has surpassed the record for most firearms caught in a year with two months still remaining in 2023. The previous record was 35 set in 2019.

The TSA on Tuesday once again implored Pittsburgh airport travelers to stop the practice of storing guns in their carry-on luggage.

“It is disappointing to see travelers continue to bring their guns to our checkpoints because in doing so they create a potentially dangerous situation through their own actions,” Karen Keys-Turner, the TSA's federal secuity director for the airport, said in a statement.

“Responsible gun owners know where their guns are and they know not to bring them to a checkpoint. We have no issues with passengers who pack their firearms properly to be transported on their flight in their checked baggage, but bringing a loaded gun to a checkpoint is not the way to do it.”

In addition to potential criminal arrests or citations, travelers face stiff federal civil penalties for bringing guns to the security checkpoint that can be in the thousands of dollars.