Security at Los Angeles International Airport stopped a traveler from taking "a surprising number of prohibited items" on a Philadelphia-bound flight, including dozens of fireworks and multiple weapons, officials said.
The incident unfolded at about 10 p.m. Dec. 15 when Transportation Security Administration officers flagged a woman who had put her carry-on bag through the X-ray machine at Terminal 4, the agency said.
The TSA officer "was shocked" to find that the bag contained "82 consumer grade fireworks, three knives, two replica firearms and one canister of pepper spray," the TSA said in a statement Friday.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the traveler was arrested or barred from boarding her flight to Philadelphia.
“The sheer number of prohibited items discovered in a single carry-on bag is extremely concerning,” Jason Pantages, the TSA’s federal security director at the airport, said in a statement.
“This traveler should have followed TSA’s tried and true advice — unpack your bag before you pack it to ensure you don’t bring any prohibited items to the security checkpoint," he said.
Pantages urged travelers to be particularly mindful this week as millions of holiday travelers clog airport security lines in settings that are already busy enough.
"We are in the midst of the holiday travel season when security checkpoints will be busy everywhere," Pantages said. "Let this incident serve as a reminder to all travelers to double-check the contents of your bag prior to coming to the airport.”
