Traveller carries gun from US to Japan undetected

TOKYO, Jan 14 (IANS): An American traveller boarded a flight from the US to Japan carrying a gun which was undetected in airport security check, according to an official statement.

The US' Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said in the statement on Saturday: "TSA has determined standard procedures were not followed and a passenger did in fact pass through a standard screening TSA checkpoint with a firearm at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on the morning of January 3."

Delta Airlines also issued a statement to CNN, saying that "upon the customer's disclosure, the airline reported the incident to the TSA".

The security breach came two weeks into the government shutdown, during which TSA agents have been required to work but have not received paychecks.

CNN reported on January 04 -- a day after the breach-that hundreds of TSA agents from at least four major airports had called in sick.