NORFOLK, Va. - A Virginia Beach man is facing potential criminal charges, as well as a stiff federal financial civil penalty, after Transportation Security Administration officers caught him with a loaded handgun at the Norfolk International Airport's security checkpoint.
When TSA officers detected the .380 caliber handgun, which was loaded with six bullets, they alerted Norfolk Airport Authority Police. The weapon was then confiscated.
The case was forwarded to the Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney.
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter to be transported in the plane's cargo hold. Guns are not permitted to be carried onto planes.
For a full list of the TSA's guidelines on traveling with a firearm, click here.
This is the 22nd gun caught at Norfolk International Airport's checkpoint this year. Nationwide, TSA officers detected 3,257 firearms on passengers or in their carry-on bags at checkpoints last year.
