Teal-Colored Handgun Confiscated At Reagan National Airport: TSA

ARLINGTON, VA — Transportation Security Administration officers stopped a Georgia woman from bringing a teal-colored handgun onto a flight leaving Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Saturday.

Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority Police responded to an airport security checkpoint after TSA notified them that they had found the firearm in the woman's carry-on items.

The woman told authorities that she had mistakenly placed the 9mm firearm in her carry-on bag. The weapon was loaded with three gun magazines, totaling 30 bullets packed next to the gun, according to TSA.

WMAA Police cited the woman and confiscated the handgun. She now faces a stiff financial civil penalty from TSA of up to $15,000.

“This gun was intercepted at our checkpoint just three days before the 23rd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on our nation,” said John Busch, TSA’s federal security director at Reagan National. “It doesn’t matter what color your gun is — black, green, teal —t hey are all prohibited on planes. People who own firearms need to know where their guns are at all times. And 23 years after 9/11, everyone should know that you are not allowed to carry any weapons past our checkpoints. Our officers are good at what they do and everyone who works for TSA is very mindful of how the terrorist attacks of 9/11 impacted our nation.”

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 onlinefor people traveling with firearms.

Including the handgun found on Saturday, TSA officers have detected a total of 28 firearms at Washington National in 2024. Thirty-nine firearms were stopped at the airport in 2023, which was 10 more than the previous year.