A Sarver woman was stopped by airport security after she allegedly brought a handgun through a security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport in Findlay Township, Allegheny County.

Transportation Security Administration agents stopped the woman after they saw the gun as it passed through the X-ray machine Sunday, according to a TSA news release.

Neither the woman's name nor age were released.

“If you do bring your gun to our checkpoint, you will face a stiff federal civil penalty that could cost you thousands of dollars,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA's federal security director for the airport.

Bringing a loaded firearm to an airport can result in fines ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 for first-time offenders, while fines for repeat offenses can range from $10,000 to more than $13,000.

Keys-Turner said only four months into 2021, there have been 11 travelers stopped with weapons. In 2020, 21 people were fined for these offenses, although it is noted there were not nearly as many passengers last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Let me say it very simply. Do not bring your gun to an airport security checkpoint,” Keys-Turner said. “Even if you have a concealed carry permit, you are not permitted to carry it onto an airplane.”

Travelers are not permitted to carry their guns onto airplanes. However, passengers are permitted to transport their firearms as checked baggage if they are properly packed and declared at their airline ticket counter, so they can be transported in the cargo section of the plane.

Checked firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked and packed separately from ammunition.

“If you want to travel with it, you must pack it properly so that it can be transported as checked baggage,” Keys-Turner said.