A passenger was stopped at Ontario Airport in California earlier this week with two 81 mm mortar rounds in their luggage after they were discovered by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers during routine screening.
Thankfully, both the mortar rounds were inert, but whether decommissioned or not, mortar rounds are most definitely banned from both hand baggage and checked-in luggage.
In a cheeky post on social media site X, the TSA reminded passengers to always double check what they have in their luggage lest they forget you’ve forgotten that you’ve got some explosives stashed in their bags.
In this case, it doesn’t sound like the passenger got in much trouble for trying to bring these prohibited items onto a commercial airline, but it doesn’t always end so well.
In 2021, a teenage Italian tourist in London ended up being jailed for two months after trying to bring a decommissioned hand grenade on a plane at Heathrow Airport.
Domenico Giovinazzo was quickly surrounded by armed police after security officers detected the grande during routine x-ray screening of his hand luggage.
Chief Superintendent Sean Wilson, head of the Metropolitan Police’s Aviation Policing Command, called Giovianazzo’s actions “reckless and dangerous” after the discovery prompted the partial evacuation of the airport terminals, leading to flight delays.
Thankfully, the court took some mercy on Giovinazzo and suspended his sentence for one year.
Last year, an American passenger attempted to smuggle live explosives in the lining of his checked-in luggage on an Orlando-bound Allegiant flight from Lehigh Valley International Airport.
