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A ground stop issued Friday at several airports in the Washington, D.C., region has been lifted after a chemical odor disrupted air traffic control operations.
“The ground stop is over and operations have resumed,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on X. “Firefighters from Fauquier County and Prince William County confirm there is no threat to air traffic controllers.”
The temporary ground stop affected Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) and Richmond International Airport (RIC), according to Duffy.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) later lowered the ground delay warning for Washington area airports as operations gradually resumed.
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy during a press conference at Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, NJ, November 24, 2025. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The FAA website showed significant delays as of 8:40 p.m. Friday, including average ground delays of about 222 minutes at DCA and more than 150 minutes at BWI.
Earlier in the day, Duffy said the FAA was investigating a strong odor detected at the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility, which manages air traffic in the area.
He later said the smell came from an overheated circuit board, which has since been replaced.
“The source of the strong odor was traced to a circuit board that had overheated, and it was replaced. Thank you for your patience as we get the flights back up and running,” Duffy said.
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An FAA air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, October 28, 2025. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
TRACON, based in Warrenton, Virginia, provides air traffic control services in the Baltimore-Washington and Richmond-Charlottesville areas to FOX5.
An FAA spokesperson confirmed that the ground stop was carried out after a strong chemical odor at the facility affected some air traffic controllers.
“The FAA has temporarily suspended traffic at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) due to a strong chemical odor at the Potomac TRACON that is impacting some air traffic controllers,” the spokesperson said.
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Passengers walk at Dulles International Airport, November 12, 2025, in Washington, DC (Sha Hanting/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Although flights are now resuming, airport officials say passengers can expect continued delays as airlines work through the backlog.
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“Airlines are once again resuming regular operations and preparing for departure. Expect remaining delays this evening,” BWI Airport said in a message on X. “For flight-specific updates, please confirm flight status with your airline. We appreciate the patience of passengers affected by the delays.”
