No gun training? No gun permit? No problem for law-abiding people in Louisiana. Conceal it and carry it. But not to an airline checkpoint, and remember, Louisiana gun laws don’t  fly everywhere.

“If you are going to travel with your firearm it must be declared, unloaded and in a locked hard-sided case in a checked bag, not a carry-on,” said Sari Koshetz, Transportation Security Administration. “Changes in local and state laws do not affect our federal laws in regards to traveling with your firearm.”

Heath Allen, executive director, Lake Charles Regional Airport and Koshetz recently issued a reminder of items prohibited in carry-on bags and how to safely travel with a gun in checked baggage. TSA, part of the Department of Homeland Security, partners with the Lake Charles Regional Airport and the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office to provide security.

“Be sure you know exactly what the firearm laws are on each side of your trip,” Koshetz said.     

Firearms may not be legal to transport even in checked baggage in some jurisdictions. Passengers face a civil penalty imposed by the TSA that can reach nearly $15,000 for bringing a gun into the checkpoint and lose their TSA PreCheck privileges. Travelers enrolled in the TSA PreCheck do not have to remove shoes, belts, liquids, laptops and light jackets during the screening process. American and United Airlines that serve LCRA are in the program.

The rules are the same across the United States and in the U.S. territories and for any U.S. or foreign airline with authority to fly into and out of the United States, according to Koshetz.