FL Man Cited For Bringing Firearm To Washington National Airport: TSA

ARLNGTON, VA — For the sixth time this month, Transportation Security Administration officers have stopped a passenger from bringing a firearm onto a flight leaving Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington.

TSA officers caught a Florida man bringing a 9mm handgun loaded with 10 bullets to an airport checkpoint on Tuesday. It was the same gun the man tried to bring onto flight leaving Pensacola International Airport in 2019. In that incident, the TSA allowed the man to return the gun to his car.

This time, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police confiscated the firearm and issued a criminal citation. The man told officials that he had brought the gun to the airport for protection.

“This individual did not learn his lesson the first time he carried his gun to a checkpoint and this second time could be costlier because his financial civil penalty may be significantly more for repeating his same mistake,” said John Busch, TSA’s federal security director for the airport. “Under any circumstances it is unacceptable to bring a loaded gun to an airport checkpoint, but to do it twice is just plain irresponsible.”

The Florida man faces a possible penalty of up to $15,000 for bringing a weapon to an airport checkpoint.

Related: 4 Handguns In 7 Days Stopped At Reagan National Airport Checkpoints

“This individual did not learn his lesson the first time he carried his gun to a checkpoint and this second time could be costlier because his financial civil penalty may be significantly more for repeating his same mistake,” said John Busch, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “Under any circumstances it is unacceptable to bring a loaded gun to an airport checkpoint, but to do it twice is just plain irresponsible.

People are allowed to travel with their handguns, but the handguns must be properly stored in their checked baggage and declared at check-in. In addition, handguns must be stored unloaded in a hard-locked case, with ammunition stored separately. The hard-locked case must be brought to the airline check-in window, where it will be checked with the traveler's baggage. TSA has more information available online for people traveling with firearms.

Including the handgun found on Tuesday, TSA officers have detected a total of 16 firearms at Reagan National Airport in 2024. Thirty-nine firearms were stopped at the airport in 2023, which was 10 more than the previous year.