A mysterious chemical odor at an air traffic control facility forced four major airports in the Washington DC region to halt all flights for more than an hour Friday evening. The incident caused significant delays at Reagan National, Dulles, BWI, and Richmond airports.
A mysterious chemical odor disrupted air travel across the Washington DC region Friday evening, forcing aviation officials to suspend all flight operations at four major airports for more than an hour.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the flight suspension at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and Richmond International Airport after the unidentified smell began affecting air traffic control operations, FAA Secretary Sean Duffy disclosed on social media Friday.
The disruption triggered flight delays stretching approximately two hours at some of the nation’s most heavily trafficked airports. While departures resumed after 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, the ground stop preventing aircraft landings continued.
According to Duffy’s statement, the odor originated from the Potomac TRACON facility, which serves as the terminal radar approach control center overseeing air traffic operations for Washington DC, Baltimore, Richmond, Virginia, and the Richmond-Charlottesville regions, based on FAA information.
Federal aviation officials did not respond to requests for additional details about how the chemical smell was impacting air traffic controllers Friday evening.
Flight tracking data showed that between 25% and one-third of all departures from the four affected airports experienced delays following the ground stop order.
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