TSA warns about guns in bags at Tampa International Airport as permitless carry causes uptick
TAMPA, Fla. - Security officials at Tampa International Airport have a reminder this holiday season: carry-on luggage is fine, but carrying guns onto the airplane is not.
TSA agent Mark Howell held a press conference at TPA on Tuesday and showed how they want guns brought to the airport.
Guns require a hard case, stuffed with material to stop the firearms and ammo from rattling around, locked, and with a card that shows it has been declared to the airline upon check-in.
Firearm demonstration at TPA on Tuesday
Then it’s checked like any other bag, to be screened by X-Ray.
"If you do this the right way, we have no issue with you taking the firearm with you when you travel because it is placed beneath the aircraft, and it’s not accessible during the flight," Howell said.
This year, with just a few weeks to go, TSA says there have been 137 guns found at TPA checkpoints, while all of last year they found 131.
Howell says almost all are left in a bag accidentally, but that still brings at least a civil fine and potentially an arrest.
"When you’re packing, start with an empty bag, start from scratch, make sure all the pockets are empty, and then start placing your things in there to make sure you don’t mistakenly leave that firearm in there," said Howell.
From talking to passengers who have forgotten, officials believe that the state’s new permitless carry law is at least partly to blame for the uptick at TPA.
Though statewide numbers are slightly down year to year, officials at TPA believe an uptick in people with guns is leading to more accidents.
"With permitless carry, it becomes part of the daily routine, to have your firearm with you. You head out the door with your cell phone, your wallet, your keys and your gun," said Howell. "The days you’re traveling you have to flip that mindset."