A TSA security checkpoint at Appleton International Airport in Greenville is seen June 16, 2021. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREENVILLE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — TSA officers say they intercepted two loaded firearms in a carry-on bag at Appleton International Airport this week.
Around 5:30 a.m. Monday, officers spotted the image of two handguns on the X-ray screen in a single bag while doing a routine screening of carry-on luggage.
TSA officials called the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office, who responded to the checkpoint and took possession of the firearms.
“As we continue to project elevated travel volumes at airports across the state in the coming weeks and months, we urge passengers to start with an empty bag and ensure they aren’t inadvertently bringing any prohibited items to the checkpoint,” TSA Wisconsin Federal Security Director Mark Lendvay said. “Bringing a firearm in your carry-on bag is a careless, expensive mistake that introduces tremendous risk to the crowded checkpoint environment.”
Firearms have also been detected this month at checkpoints in Dane County Regional Airport (MSN), Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE), and Central Wisconsin Airport (CWA).
Nationally, more than 6,600 firearms were stopped at airport checkpoints in 2024, a decrease from the year prior. Most airports in Wisconsin saw their firearm detections drop last year, as well.
In addition to any action taken by law enforcement, TSA fines passengers who bring a firearm to a TSA checkpoint with a civil penalty up to approximately $15,000, revokes TSA PreCheck eligibility for at least five years and may conduct enhanced screening to ensure there are no other threats present.
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are unloaded, packed separately from ammunition in a locked hard-sided case and declared at the airline check-in counter. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality. Travelers should check for firearm laws in the jurisdictions they are flying to and from.
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