A Southwest pilot has been arrested on a weapons charge in New York after airport security officers found a loaded handgun in his carry-on bag. Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple says 55-year-old Erik Gibson was slated to pilot a flight to Tampa, Florida, on Monday morning when TSA officers found the gun during routine screening. Apple says Gibson, who's from Louisiana, told authorities he forgot he was carrying the gun. He had flown to Albany from New Orleans on Sunday but had gone through a crew line that didn't have security screening. Apple said Gibson was charged with misdemeanor weapon possession and released on $200 bail. Officials don't know if he has a lawyer, and Southwest didn't reply to an email seeking comment.<br/>
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NewGen Airways launched its maiden service yesterday out of U-tapao airport, which the airline has adopted as its new local base. The flight kicked off the scheduled charter service, at four flights a week, to Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan province in central China. Thailand's largest China-focused charter operator is finalising a plan to serve one or two additional Chinese cities from the Navy-operated airport in Rayong later this year. U-tapao was seen as providing NewGen with an alternative to avoid the overcrowding at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport, where new flight slots are hard to secure. <br/>