This is concerning.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has reported that flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and Richmond International Airport have all been halted.
The ground stop was issued after a strong chemical odor was reported at Potomac TRACON, which is an air traffic control facility that assists flights in the DMV area.
Take a look:
🚨BREAKING🚨 GROUND STOP CURRENTLY AT THE FOLLOWING AIRPORTS:
⚠️ Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
⚠️ Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
⚠️ Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI)⁰⚠️ Richmond International Airport (RIC)@FAANews is working to…— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) March 13, 2026
Full Text:
🚨BREAKING🚨 GROUND STOP CURRENTLY AT THE FOLLOWING AIRPORTS:
⚠️ Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
⚠️ Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
⚠️ Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) ⚠️ Richmond International Airport (RIC)
@FAANews is working to address the source of a strong odor coming from Potomac TRACON that is impacting operations at the three airports.
🚨 BREAKING: Air traffic at all three major Washington, D.C.–area airports has been halted after a strong chemical odor was detected at the Potomac TRACON air traffic control center.
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 13, 2026
WBAL-TV reported more on the incident:
Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is among several airports where a ground stop is in effect due to a strong chemical smell at the Potomac traffic control facility.
ADVERTISEMENTAccording to the Federal Aviation Administration, the ground stop was issued late Friday afternoon due to an equipment outage.
The stop is expected to last until at least 7 p.m.
Asked for comment, a BWI-Marshall representative referred WBAL-TV 11 News to the FAA for an “issue” with Potomac Consolidated Terminal RADAR Approach Control (TRACON).
An FAA representative sent a statement to WBAL-TV 11 News at 6 p.m., saying: “The FAA has temporarily stopped traffic at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) because of a strong chemical smell at the Potomac TRACON that is impacting some air traffic controllers.”
Other airports along the East Coast are also impacted, including Washington Dulles International, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Richmond International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport and several others.
The affected airports are under the same air traffic control center in Washington, D.C., and the ground stops are having ripple effects across the nation.
This is a developing story…
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