Flights at four major airports serving Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Richmond were halted for over an hour due to a strong chemical smell impeding air traffic controllers at Potomac TRACON, causing significant delays.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Four airports serving Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, Virginia, halted all flights on Friday evening for over an hour because of a strong chemical smell that was impeding air traffic controllers, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The smell was coming from Potomac TRACON, Duffy wrote, referring to a terminal radar approach control facility that manages air traffic for the Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Richmond, Virginia, and the Richmond-Charlottesville areas, according to the FAA website. A spokesperson for the federal agency didn’t respond to an emailed question clarifying how the smell was affecting traffic controllers on Friday evening. Between 25% and one-third of all flights departing from the four airports affected were delayed after the ground stop.
