BREAKING: Ground Stops Issued For ALL Washington D.C. Area Airports

Ground stops have been issued at all major airports in the Washington D.C. area.

All flights on schedule to leave Dulles International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and Baltimore Washington International Airport were grounded.

The FAA grounded the flights after an unknown odor was reported at the headquarters of the radar facility that manages D.C. area flights.

NBC Washington provided more details on the ground stops:

Ground stops were called for at all three major D.C.-area airports Friday evening due to a “strong chemical smell” at a facility that manages air traffic in the region, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

No flights are taking off or landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Air travelers are facing long lines at BWI airport. “I’m impressed there aren’t more bad attitudes,” one person said. News4’s Darcy Spencer talked with people who said they feel for TSA employees working without pay.
The ground stops have since been lifted at Dulles and BWI.

It’s the second such ground stop in two weeks stemming from Potomac TRACON, a terminal radar approach control facility. The ground stops on March 13 also included Richmond International Airport.

The FAA says the Potomac TRACON, a key radar facility handling Washington D.C. airspace, has been evacuated to “ATC ZERO,” prompting ground stops for flights to Reagan National, Dulles, BWI, Charlottesville and Richmond airports. – CNN https://t.co/dmCYN1TXWO

— AZ Intel (@AZ_Intel_) March 27, 2026

People reported a similar incident occurred just four days earlier in Newark:

A brief ground stop was issued at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in New Jersey after a “burning smell” was detected in an air traffic control tower.

The incident, which occurred on the morning of Monday, March 23, prompted an evacuation of the tower, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration tells PEOPLE. The airport temporarily halted all flights; however, operations have since resumed.

“Operations are normal after air traffic controllers temporarily paused arrivals and departures at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and evacuated the tower because of a burning smell coming from an elevator,” the FAA says.