The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued ground stops for flights at several airports in the Washington, DC, and Maryland area, due to an “environmental issue” at a government facility, according to multiple reports.
Pete Muntean, a CNN correspondent, shared in a post on X that the FAA issued ground stops at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), Richmond International Airport (RIC), and Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport (CHO).
Muntean also shared that Potomac TRACON, a “key radar facility handling” airspace in the nation’s capital, “has been evacuated to ‘ATC ZERO.’”
“Potomac TRACON, the key radar facility handling D.C. airspace, has been evacuated to ‘ATC ZERO’ according to FAA alerts,” Muntean wrote. “The FAA is now implementing ground stops for flights to Reagan National, Dulles, BWI, Charlottesville and Richmond airports.”
Fox5DC reported that the ground stops at “Dulles and BWI have since been lifted,” but that ground stops “remain in place for DCA.”
In a statement to the outlet, the FAA shared that ground stops were “temporarily” issued at the airports because of a “strong smell” at Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON).
Breitbart News reported earlier in March that the FAA also issued ground stops at several airports in the Washington, DC, area due to a “strong odor” from the Potomac TRACON facility.
