A ground stop at all three major D.C.-area airports Friday has been lifted. It was originally in effect around 5:30 p.m. due to a “strong chemical smell” at a Federal Aviation Administration facility in Virginia.
The airports are still facing ground delays.
The FAA issued ground stops at Reagan National, Dulles International and BWI Marshall airports, as well as the Charlottesville-Albemarle and Richmond International airports.
In a statement to WTOP, the FAA said the ground stops are due to a “strong chemical smell” at the Potomac Consolidated Terminal RADAR Approach Control (TRACON) in Virginia, affecting some air traffic controllers. No injuries were reported.
Potomac Consolidated TRACON provides air traffic control services to the Baltimore-Washington and Richmond-Charlottesville areas.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X that the FAA is “working to address” the strong smell.
For those flying into the D.C. area, it is unclear whether flights will be diverted to other nearby airports.
“There’s going to be ripple effects all night long because the delays were growing by the second it looked like,” Transportation reporter Tom Roussey with WTOP news partner 7News said.
The TRACON facility is an FAA facility that works with the regional airports. Roussey said with the way flights are scheduled, “if anything throws them off, it creates a ripple effect, and I’m sure they’ll be dealing with this the rest of the night, maybe even into tomorrow.”
WTOP anchor Mark Lewis was caught at Reagan National, where his flight was meant to depart at 5 p.m. It wasn’t until 7 p.m. that he reported the plane’s engine turned on and the pilot began taxiing. He said the whole flight applauded when they heard the good news.
WTOP listeners have reported sitting on tarmacs for long periods of time or deboarding altogether.
One listener told WTOP they were in line to takeoff when their pilot came on the overhead radio to inform passengers of the ground stop. They sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes until the plane returned to its departure gate where passengers deplaned. The Southwest flight had originally been scheduled to takeoff at 4:35 p.m. and they began reboarding around 7:30 p.m.
This is a developing story. Stay with WTOP for the latest.
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