The Transportation Security Administration on Thursday discovered a loaded firearm at the Chattanooga Airport checkpoint - the ninth firearm detected at Lovell Field this year and matching the total in all of 2019.
A Smith & Wesson .40-caliber handgun with a loaded magazine was detected in a passenger's carry-on bag at 3 p.m., the agency said. TSA alerted airport police, who took possession of the bag and escorted the passenger out of the checkpoint area, according to TSA.
While firearms may be transported in checked baggage - provided they are declared to the airline and in a proper carrying case and unloaded - they are prohibited in carry-on bags, TSA said.
"Even with much lower than normal passenger numbers, we continue to find firearms at a very high rate at security checkpoints," said Steve Wood, TSA assistant federal security director for Tennessee, in a statement. "Passengers must remember they're responsible for the contents of bags and our advice is they thoroughly inspect all personal belongings to make sure there are no illegal or prohibited items before coming to the airport."
(Read more: Chattanooga Airport boardings rise, but less than half pre-pandemic)
In addition to potential criminal charges, passengers who bring firearms to a checkpoint face civil penalties from TSA, the agency said.
--Compiled by Mike Pare