Five women carrying pepper spray were stopped at a LaGuardia Airport security checkpoint Wednesday, an unusual number of stops in one day for the material banned from planes in the U.S., officials say.
The travelers were each stopped when Transportation Security Administration officers discovered pepper spray in their carry-on bags, TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said. One of the women had two canisters of pepper spray with her.
None of the incidents were related, and they all happened before noon. TSA usually dumps one or two pepper spray canisters a day at LaGuardia, so finding five canisters before noon was unusual, Farbstein said.
All of the women who were stopped said they were carrying the pepper spray for self-defense, but the material is prohibited from being brought onto planes in carry-ons because it can also be used as a weapon.
The TSA does not keep an official count of pepper spray confiscated at checkpoints and could not say whether more travelers in general are carrying pepper spray in their purses and carry-ons.
In checked baggage, passengers are allowed to bring up a container of up to 4 ounces of Mace or pepper spray, with a maximum concentration of 2 percent active ingredient, as long as the container has a safety mechanism to prevent accident discharge.
