DEVELOPING: Ground Stop in Place at all DC Area Airports Due to “Strong Chemical Smell”

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.

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