Appleton International Airport. (PHOTO: WTAQ News)
GREENVILLE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A loaded handgun was detected in a passenger’s carry-on luggage at Appleton International Airport (ATW) Sunday.
A TSA officer spotted the image of a handgun on the X-ray screen around 5:30 a.m. during a routine screening of carry-on luggage.
TSA immediately alerted the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office.
“When someone shows up with a firearm at the checkpoint, the conveyor belt is stopped until the police arrive and remove the carry-on bag from the X-ray machine to safely secure the weapon,” Wisconsin TSA Federal Security Director Mark Lendvay said. “Bringing a firearm to a security checkpoint not only slows down the individuals in that lane, but it slows everyone in line behind them down and is a security and safety concern. Guns should never be brought to the security checkpoint in carry-on luggage.”
This is the eighth firearm detected at Appleton’s airport so far this year, and the first since July. Only two firearms were detected at ATW security checkpoints in all of 2022. There have also been multiple instances of improperly packed and/or undeclared firearms in checked bags at ATW this year.
The penalty amount for a firearm violation, which TSA determines based on the circumstances in each case, can reach as high as $14,950. TSA will revoke TSA PreCheck eligibility for at least five years for passengers caught with a firearm in their possession.
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are unloaded, packed separately from ammunition in a locked hardback case and declared at the airline check-in counter. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality. Travelers should check for firearm and ammunition laws in the jurisdictions they are flying to and from.
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