by Dave Workman
Senior Editor

Authorities at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport have been investigating the theft of firearms from checked baggage; handguns that must be declared at check-in by law, whether the traveler is military, law enforcement or a private citizen.

The investigation reportedly involves the FBI and Chicago police.

It is legal to travel by air with a firearm so long as it is declared, unloaded and is part of checked luggage. It must be carried inside a hard-sided, locked case. It is not legal to carry a firearm aboard an aircraft in one’s carry-on luggage.

The problem gained notice in the pages of The Chicago Tribune last month when it was revealed that the thefts apparently were all from United Airlines flights departing the airport. There has been some finger-pointing, as the most likely suspects are thought to be either airline baggage handlers or screeners for the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA). The latter would be in a position to spot handguns in baggage when the bags are x-rayed.

Typically, when a handgun is declared, the passenger is escorted or directed to a nearby TSA baggage screening area and, depending upon the airport, the luggage containing the unloaded handgun is screened while the passenger waits. Once TSA screeners clear the luggage, it is then sent to the handling area where luggage handlers put it aboard the airplane.

However, that is not always the case. According to David Stempler, president of the Air Traveler’s Association, at some airports the screening process is done down in the bowels of the terminal, out of sight of passengers. The problem with this system, he told Gun Week, is that someone’s luggage is first turned over to the airline, which then turns it over to the TSA for screening, and then TSA turns it back over to airline baggage handlers. It is a process ripe for exploitation.

“If things get lost,” he said, “you go to the baggage claim area and find there’s a problem and the only place you can go is to the airline. They might say you need to deal with TSA, and TSA points back at the airlines, and you get left holding the bag.”

Stempler, who declined to state his group’s membership, said he has not heard any complaints so far from members.

While theft from luggage is hardly a new problem at airports, the theft of handguns is raising concern because of recent publicity about airline security amid the threat of terrorism. Also, authorities in Chicago indicated to The Tribune concerns about employees moving through secure areas of the airport with firearms.

The police union in Chicago warned its members of the thefts on its website after one union member’s handgun was among those stolen.

It appears likely that the guns are being stolen for sale in the black market. However, the problem does not appear widespread, nor is at epidemic proportions. The newspaper estimated that about a dozen firearms have vanished since the beginning of 2005 at the United terminal. On the average, about 10 firearms are checked every day by United Airlines passengers departing O’Hare, the report said.