Originally Posted by
Justin026
The extra step of going into the baggage office seems like it would be easy enough. It would reduce the chance of having the wrong person take the bag with the gun, allows an ID check and also would put "a last set of eyes" on the passenger. You could also impose a 30 minute or 60 minute waiting period to pick the gun up. You could require a skycap to take the bag and load it into a vehicle. A fee could be charged to pay for the extra steps. The wait alone might uncover someone that is unstable or deter someone with criminal intent. Loopholes would remain for sure.
Still no solution for this person doing the exact same thing, but in Alaska and never even flyng: walk into baggage claim at ANC with a gun in a duffel bag, go to the restroom and load it, and then walk out and start shooting.
I do notice a lot of lightly used and totally unsecure restrooms scattered around baggage claim areas. Maybe that can be looked at.
Has it been announced how and when this person obtained the handgun? And was his mental health status in the databases used to screen purchases?
The passenger who correctly and legally checks a weapon has a key to the locked box that contains the gun. No one else has the key to open the box so it's very unlikely that a stranger could take the bag and have access to the gun in a timely manner.