Ground stops have been implemented at all three major airports in the Washington, DC, area due to what the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) described as a “strong chemical smell at the Potomac TRACON.”
News Nation attributed the ground stop to equipment outages.
The FAA said in a statement,
“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.”
Per The DMV Live:
GROUND STOP AT ALL DC AREA AIRPORTS 🚨
“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… pic.twitter.com/kDN7uPJ9eK— The DC MD VA Live (@TheDMVLive) March 13, 2026
The Potomac Consolidated TRACON (PCT) in Warrenton, Virginia, “provides air traffic control service to the Baltimore-Washington and the Richmond-Charlottesville Areas,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
“PCT controls the airspace over Andrews, BWI, Ronald Reagan, Dulles, Richmond and many other area airports.”
Per ABC 7:
The TRACON facility also serves Richmond International Airport, which is also under a ground stop, according to the FAA.
Philadelphia International Airport was also on a ground delay due to “equipment outages.”
This is a developing story.
