Ground stops were issued for all three Washington DC-area airports Friday evening because of a ‘strong chemical smell’ at a facility that manages air traffic in the region, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport were all rendered temporarily unusable due to the overwhelming disruption.
The hold was announced shortly after 6.30pm due to ‘environmental’ reasons.
Flights were diverted to airports as far as Cleveland, Ohio, and Raleigh, North Carolina, according to NBC Washington.
This marked the second ground stop in as many weeks caused by the Potomac TRACON, a terminal radar approach control facility responsible for air traffic control services to Baltimore and other local airports.
The disruption was caused by a strong smell from an overheated battery inside an IT cabinet at the facility, Fauquier County officials told 7News.
Emergency crews responded to a call around 6.50pm and found that no one at the facility was injured.
DC’s airports had been among those impacted by the travel chaos plaguing America as a result of a partial government shutdown.
Ground stops were issued at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the stops were because of ‘environmental’ reasons
The ground stops were caused by a strong smell from an overheated battery inside an IT cabinet at the Potomac TRACON, a terminal radar approach control facility
About 25 percent of flights at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were delayed, according to FlightAware.
Dulles International Airport in Virginia saw about 11 percent of its flights delayed.
Friday’s ground stops around the DC-area airports were lifted around 7.30pm.
However, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport remained on a ground delay until midnight, according to DCNewsNow.
Baltimore-Washington International Airport said the FAA’s ground stop that ‘some residual flight delays’ could still be expected.
FAA spokeswoman Kristen Alsop said controllers were coming back to work and normal flight operations would soon return to normal.
New York City’s Emergency Management warned travelers that flights to Washington could face significant delays on Friday night.
‘Travelers to the DC area should expect possible ground holds, departure delays, and cancellations, and check directly with your airline before heading to the airport,’ the agency posted on X.
About 25 percent of flights at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (pictured) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were delayed
The DC-area airports have seen mass delays and cancelations as a result of the partial government shutdown which will reach 44 days on Sunday
The DC-area airports were also brought to a halt earlier this month because of a strong odor traced back to a circuit at the Potomac TRACON
The previous ground stop this month, which lasted about an hour, was the result of a strong odor that was traced to a circuit at the Potomac TRACON, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Airport operations continued after firefighters confirmed there was no danger to air traffic controllers.
‘The source of the strong odor was traced to a circuit board that overheated, and it was replaced,’ Duffy wrote on X.
Travelers flying out of DC have been dealing with massive delays and cancellations over the past few weeks because of the TSA pay stoppage.
That could change after President Donald Trump signed an order on Friday to pay TSA employees as soon as Monday.
The partial government shutdown will reach 44 days tomorrow. TSA employees have worked without pay since February 14.
Almost 500 TSA officers of the agency’s nearly 50,000 employees have quit since the start of the shutdown, per the DHS.
This has caused huge delays all over the US as workers call out sick, with some airports experiencing call-out rates that topped 40 percent.
