Overview
- FAA ground stops hit Reagan National, Dulles, BWI, Charlottesville, and Richmond after controllers reported a strong smell at the Potomac TRACON on Friday evening.
- Stops at BWI and Dulles were later lifted while the order at Reagan National remained in effect during evening updates, with inbound flights holding or diverting and many departures delayed.
- FlightAware reported about 25% of flights delayed at Baltimore and National and 11% at Dulles as Flightradar24 showed aircraft placed in airborne holds or sent to alternate airports.
- The facility was declared ATC ZERO under the FAA’s Operational Contingency Level, which pauses or sharply restricts traffic when a control center cannot provide normal services.
- This is the second such evacuation in March, after a March 13 incident tied to an overheated circuit board, and the latest disruption compounded long security lines linked to a partial government shutdown.