This gun was detected by a TSA officers in a traveler’s carry-on bag at Reagan National Airport on Sept. 28. (TSA photo)
ARLINGTON, Va. – Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) prevented a Fairfax County, Va., man from carrying his loaded handgun onto a flight yesterday, Wednesday, Sept. 28. It was the 21st gun detected by TSA officers at the airport so far this year.
The .25 caliber handgun was loaded with six bullets, where it was located among the man’s carry-on items. When TSA officers spotted the firearm, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Police were notified, confiscated the weapon and cited the man, a resident of Lorton, Va., on a weapons charge.
“Our TSA officers continue to be focused on our mission by detecting firearms and other prohibited items at security checkpoints as well as in checked baggage,” said John Busch, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “We encourage travelers to have a greater awareness of what they are packing for their flight by using the tools that TSA has made available to help determine if an item should be packed in a carry-on bag, checked bag, either or neither. This will reduce the troubling number of passengers bringing weapons to the security checkpoints across the system. Use the ‘Can I bring?’ feature on our homepage, www.tsa.gov. Download the free myTSA app, which has that same feature. Or tweet your questions to our social media team at @AskTSA.”
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.
Firearms Caught at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport checkpoints, 2017 to 2022
|
Year |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 (As of 9/28/22) |
|
Guns caught at DCA checkpoints |
13 |
16 |
14 |
10 |
30 |
21 |
Bringing a gun to an airport checkpoint carries a federal civil penalty because TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who have guns and gun parts with them at a checkpoint. Civil penalties for bringing a handgun into a checkpoint can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending on mitigating circumstances. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online. Additionally, if a traveler with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck®, that individual may lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.
Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality and passengers should do their homework to make sure that they are not violating any local firearm laws. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.
Nationwide, TSA officers detected 5,972 firearms on passengers or their carry-on bags at checkpoints last year. Of the guns caught by TSA in 2021, about 86 percent were loaded.