Can You Legally Fly With A Firearm In New York State?

If you have a firearm and want to travel with it, can you legally transport it with you when you fly in New York? Flying is stressful enough, but imagine how stressful if could be to try to travel with your gun. New York does have some tough requirements to carry a firearm, so what does that mean if you want to fly with yours?

Can You Bring Your Gun On A Plane?

The answer is YES...but. No, you cannot just walk through security with your gun in your carry-on luggage. Doing that could land you a civil or criminal charge and a hefty fine of up to $14,950 per violation per person. You could also have your weapon seized. If you are actually experienced in traveling with a firearm, you might be thinking "how dumb can people be?". Well, I'm not calling anyone dumb, but statistics show that many people are either not aware of the rules or are just being careless.

Here's How Many Guns TSA Seized At Airports In New York State Last Year

The number of guns the Transportation Security Administration confiscated at airports in New York increased in 2022. TSA officers stopped 23 handguns at New York airports outside of NYC last year. TSA officers stopped 39 handguns at NYC area airport checkpoints in 2022.

Albany International Airport (ALB) - 7 Guns Discovered In 2022

Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) - 5 Guns Discovered In 2022

Elmira Corning Regional Airport (ELM) - 2 Guns Discovered In 2022

Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC) - 3 Guns Discovered In 2022

Ithaca Tompkins International Airport (ITH) - 0 Guns Discovered In 2022

John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) - 7 Guns Discovered In 2022

LaGuardia Airport (LGA) - 11 Guns Discovered In 2022

Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) - 0 Guns Discovered In 2022

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) - 14 Guns Discovered In 2022

New York Stewart International Airport (SWF) - 3 Guns Discovered In 2022

Westchester County Airport - 4 Guns Discovered In 2022

What You Need To Know In Order To Travel With Your Gun

Credit: TSA via Youtube

The most important thing to know if you are flying into, or out of New York, or inside the state is that you cannot for any reason carry a gun with you in your carry-on bags. In order to bring a gun onboard a plane, keep these things in mind:

- Your weapon must be in a hard-sided lock box
- Only you can have access to the key or code
- It must go in your checked luggage
- The magazine will need to be unloaded and removed from the gun and fit in the lock box
- TSA considers a weapon loaded if the passenger has access to both ammunition and the weapon (even if the gun isn't actually loaded)
- You need to declare the gun when you check your luggage
- TSA considers frames, receivers, and 3D-printed guns to be firearms
- Firearm parts - magazines, clips, bolts, and firing pins must be checked also
- Ammunition must be checked and cannot be transported in a carry-on bag

Check with your airline to make sure they allow you to check a weapon and if there are any special things you need to know, such as picking it up from their baggage claim office rather than the carousel. Be prepared to get some looks and concerns from airport employees, who may not be used to a passenger checking a firearm.

You can find more info about flying with a gun here.

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