TSA officers prevent Maryland man from carrying loaded gun onto flight at Washington Dulles International Airport

May 08, 2023

DULLES, Va. – Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) prevented a Frederick County, Md., man from bringing his loaded handgun onto a flight on Monday, May 22. The 9mm handgun was loaded with four bullets.

The weapon was caught as the man, a resident of Adamstown, Md., entered the security checkpoint. The X-ray unit alerted on his carry-on bag. TSA officials notified the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police who confiscated the gun and cited the man on a weapons charge. In addition to the citation by airport police, this individual now faces a stiff financial civil penalty, and penalties for carrying a weapons can reach a maximum of $15,000.

"Memorial Day may be a week away, but the busy summer travel season has begun and when travelers bring prohibited or illegal items such as a loaded gun to our security checkpoints, it slows down the screening process," explained Scott T. Johnson, TSA's Federal Security Director for the airport. "When someone shows up with a firearm at the checkpoint, the conveyor belt is stopped until the police arrive and can remove the carry-on bag from the X-ray machine to safely secure the weapon. Guns should never be brought to the security checkpoint in carry-on luggage. Travelers have the responsibility of showing up at our airport checkpoints prepared to go through the screening process, which means that they need to go through their carry-on bags to ensure that there are no prohibited items inside. With that in mind, I recommend that when packing for a flight, it is best to start with an empty bag so you know what is packed inside of it."

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are unloaded and packed in a hard-sided locked case. Then the locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.

Firearms are not permitted through a security checkpoint because passengers should not have access to a firearm during a flight. This even applies to travelers with concealed carry permits or are enrolled in the TSA PreCheck® program, who will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges if they bring a gun to a checkpoint. Individuals who bring their gun to a security checkpoint also face a federal financial civil penalty.

Last year, 6,542 firearms were caught at 262 out of 430 airport security checkpoints nationwide. Eighty-eight percent of those guns were loaded.

TSA firearms catches at airport checkpoints at Washington Dulles International National Airport, 2016 to 2023

Year

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

(as of 5/22/23)

Guns caught at Washington Dulles International Airport checkpoints

24

19

17

19

7

19

25

11

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 gun 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 will 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.

Unsure if an item should be packed in a carry-on bag, checked bag, either or neither? Download the free myTSA app, which has a handy "What can I bring?" feature that allows you to type in the item to find out if it can fly. Or ask on Twitter or Facebook Messenger at @AskTSA. Travelers may send a question by texting "Travel" to AskTSA (275-872).