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According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the .40 caliber gun was found during an X-ray of the man's carry-on bag.
ARLINGTON, Va. — A Tennessee man faces a penalty of up to $15,000 after security at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) found an unloaded handgun and two loaded gun magazines packed in a carry-on.
According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the .40 caliber gun was found during an X-ray of the man's carry-on bag.
The weapon was removed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police, who cited the man on a weapons charge.
“It is unfortunate that we continue to see travelers carrying their firearms and ammunition to the security checkpoint here at Reagan National Airport and airports across the country,” said John Busch, TSA’s Federal Security Director the airport. “It has been decades—long before TSA existed—that a regulation has been in place that prohibits passengers from possessing firearms during a flight. If you own a gun and want to transport it on your flight, that’s fine with us as long as it is unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided case and taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared. The airline will ensure it is transported in the belly of the plane so that nobody has access to it during a fight.”
The unidentified man faces a penalty for carrying a weapon that was recently increased to a maximum fine of $15,000.
Firearms are not allowed through security checkpoints but passengers are permitted to travel with guns in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter. The TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.
According to TSA, more than 6,542 firearms were caught at 262 airport security checkpoints nationwide. More than 80% of those guns reportedly were loaded.
A 60-year-old flight attendant was arrested Monday at Reagan National Airport (DCA) after she allegedly took a passenger's bracelet set from a TSA checkpoint
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