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A reported “strong smell” at a key air traffic control facility disrupted flights Friday evening at major airports across the Washington, D.C. region for the second time in two weeks.<\/p>\n
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily halted flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Baltimore\/Washington International Airport (BWI), Charlottesville\u2013Albemarle Airport (CHO), and Richmond International Airport (RIC), the agency told FOX Business in an email.<\/p>\n
The FAA said the disruptions were due to a “strong smell” at the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility, which manages airspace in the region.<\/p>\n
GROUND STOP LIFTED AT MAJOR DC-AREA AIRPORTS AFTER CHEMICAL ODOR DISRUPTS AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL<\/p>\n
An FAA air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va. (Samuel Corum\/Bloomberg via Getty Images \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
It was not immediately clear what caused the smell.<\/p>\n
Ground stops at Dulles, Reagan National, and BWI remained in effect until around 8 p.m. ET before being lifted, according to the FAA\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
NEWARK AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS LOST RADAR, RADIO COMMUNICATIONS WITH PLANES FOR OVER A MINUTE, SPARKING CHAOS<\/p>\n
The FAA said the disruption was due to a “strong smell” at the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) center. (Flightradar24)<\/p>\n
As of 8:30 p.m., Reagan National was experiencing ground delays, while BWI continued to see departure delays.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, a ground stop was similarly issued at several airports in the Washington, D.C., region after a chemical odor was detected at the TRACON facility.<\/p>\n
FATAL LAGUARDIA COLLISION RENEWS FOCUS ON RUNWAY INCURSION RISKS ACROSS US<\/p>\n
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy speaks at a news conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. (Heather Diehl\/Getty Images \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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The temporary ground stop on March 13 similarly affected DCA, IAD, BWI and RIC, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the time.<\/p>\n
Duffy said the smell came from an overheated circuit board, which has since been replaced.<\/p>\n
#FAA #halts #flights #DCarea #airports #strong #smell #Potomac #TRACON<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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