Port Authority Police said the weapon was wrapped inside the man’s coat and placed on a conveyor belt at a security checkpoint in Terminal 4. A Transportation Security Administration officer spotted the gun through an X-ray machine around 7:30 a.m. Friday.
The .380 caliber handgun was loaded with six rounds, including one in the chamber, police said. The gun was reported stolen in George on November 17, 2011.
Police said 61-year-old George Vasquez, of Queen, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
It was the first gun caught at a New York airport in 2018, according to TSA.