Travelers who bring guns to security checkpoints at Pittsburgh International Airport — accidentally or otherwise — now face losing their concealed carry permit along with getting fined, authorities said Wednesday.

Transportation Security Administration agents have caught 27 guns in carry-on baggage at Pittsburgh International so far this year.

“In almost every case, the passenger says that they inadvertently had the gun in their bag,” said Stephen Kaufman, acting U.S. Attorney for Pennsylvania’s Western District. “Because we have to show criminal intent to bring a criminal charge, no criminal charges are filed.”

In addition to criminal charges being tricky to file, imposing civil fines can involve months of back and forth between authorities, the feds and the traveler.

Agents stopped five guns over a stretch of six days in late September and early October.

“We need to do something differently,” Kaufman said.

Kaufman said the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office has already agreed to revoke permits in situations “when the passenger acts in such a negligent manner.”

Karen Keys-Turner, the airport’s security director, called the number of people showing up at the checkpoint with guns an epidemic. She said the explanation of “I forgot it was there” doesn’t cut it.

“That’s just not responsible,” she said. “We know that being a responsible gun owner, you should know where your weapon is at all times.”

Kim Stolfer, president of Firearm Owners Against Crime, said the federal government should respect the fact that people are unintentionally violating the law.

“Are they not going to give one individual a pass and say, ‘OK, you didn’t mean to do it, we’re going to let it go this time?’” he said. “Why is it all of a sudden they lose the right to defend themselves and their family because they’re going to lose their license to carry?

“What are they trying to prove?” he asked, questioning whether the federal government would be held responsible for any harm that comes to a person whose license was revoked “because they couldn’t defend themselves.”

Often, Stolfer said, people just aren’t aware of the restrictions on firearms in air travel.

“We have 8 million new gun owners, and you’ve got people who are traveling with a firearm to places where they have to navigate this litany of laws in the state they’re coming from, Pennsylvania, then the state they’re going to.”

The number of firearms caught by agents at Pittsburgh International had been increasing slightly, but consistently, in the years leading up to the covid-19 pandemic: 32 in 2017, 34 in 2018 and 35 in 2019.

Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, the number of guns caught at checkpoints has dropped, though it has not been in a manner proportional to the drop in travelers.

In 2019, just under 9.78 million passengers passed through the airport, and 35 guns were caught over the course of the year — about one gun per 279,000 passengers. In 2020, the airport saw about 3.65 million passengers and 21 guns — roughly one gun for every 174,000 passengers.

“This is an accident waiting to happen,” said TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein, noting that a majority of the guns caught in carry-on bags are loaded and many people have a penchant for tossing their bags around.

Passengers can take their guns with them when traveling by air, but it must be packed in a specific way. The weapon must be unloaded and placed in a locked, hard-sided case, with ammunition in its box and packed in the case with the gun.

The entire case has to be checked like one would check baggage. A small amount of paperwork — about the size of an index card — is required.

“You can’t have a loose handful of bullets, you can’t have (ammunition) in a Ziploc bag,” Farbstein said. As for the paperwork, she said, “If it takes you a minute, you’re going slow.”

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