Authorities have warned that anyone attempting to smuggle illegal items onto aircraft while flying in the United States might be fined $17,062 per person. For primarily safety considerations, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has released a list of goods that individuals are not permitted to bring on airplanes.
People who attempt to bring weapons, including loaded firearms, into airplanes may be subject to federal penalties in addition to fines. Firearms, ammunition, sharp objects, and specific equipment are among the things that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) prohibits because they could be used as weapons or provide a safety concern. Additionally, liquids and gels weighing more than 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) are prohibited in carry-on luggage and must be stored in checked luggage.
Following incidents like the time TSA authorities at West Virginia International Yeager Airport (CRW) confiscated a man’s firearm at the airport security checkpoint, officials this week informed travelers of the steps to follow if someone is discovered to be carrying a weapon on a flight. Five rounds, including one in the chamber, were put into the 9mm handgun.
According to the TSA, the police are alerted and the conveyor belt is stopped when a gun is found in the checkpoint X-ray unit. To prevent TSA officers from handling firearms, police take the carry-on bag from the X-ray unit. Whether a traveler is arrested or given a criminal citation is decided by the police. Dozens of travelers are delayed in reaching their gates as the other passengers in the checkpoint lane either wait for the problem to be fixed or are moved to another security lane.
TSA flagged my microwave-able neck/back heater (filled with clay beads) as suspicious this morning, which meant everything I brought to the airport had to be re-inspected and I was subjected to a pat-down. Such a silly, frustrating, unnecessarily violating ordeal.
— Elizabeth Nielsen (@eannielsen) May 8, 2025
TSA officials reported the most recent incident to the police, who seized the firearm and took the man, a Daniels, West Virginia, resident, out of the checkpoint so he could be questioned. He was given a criminal citation and the gun was seized by the police. In all, TSA personnel have now seized two firearms at the checkpoint this year. Six firearms were found by TSA agents in 2024.
“If you want to travel with your gun, it needs to be unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided case and taken to your airline check-in counter so that it is transported in the underbelly of the aircraft,” said John Allen, TSA’s Federal Security Director for West Virginia, as reported by The Mirror. “This way nobody has access to it during the flight. The man now faces a federal civil financial penalty for bringing his gun to the checkpoint.”
GSN-Tighter TSA regulations has announced a ban on certain electronic items in checked baggage. Portable chargers and power banks, used to charge smartphones, must now be packed in carry-on bags only, a rule reinforced following recent in-flight fire incidents. pic.twitter.com/iMR2dhzmlF
— HJ (Hank) Ellison (@hjtherealj) May 9, 2025
Because TSA retains the authority to impose a civil penalty on travelers who bring firearms or firearm components to an airport checkpoint, bringing a gun to an airport checkpoint carries a federal civil penalty. Depending on the particular weapon and the situation, bringing a weapon into a checkpoint might result in civil penalties of up to $15,000. The full list of civil penalties is available on the internet.
Regardless of whether a passenger has a concealed carry permission or not, this is applicable because a concealed carry permit does not permit the carrying of a firearm on an aircraft. This also applies to passengers who are registered for TSA PreCheck; if they carry a firearm to a checkpoint, they will no longer be eligible for TSA PreCheck.
The conveyor belt stops and the police are alerted when a pistol is found in the checkpoint X-ray equipment. To prevent TSA officers from handling firearms, police take the carry-on bag from the X-ray unit. Whether a traveler is arrested or given a criminal citation is decided by the police. Dozens of travelers are delayed in reaching their gates as the other passengers in the checkpoint lane either wait for the problem to be fixed or are moved to another security lane.
