Friday's Commute for DC-Area Fliers Was a Stinky One

Four airports serving Washington, DC, as well as Baltimore and Richmond, Virginia, halted all flights on Friday evening for more than an hour due to a strong chemical smell that was impeding air traffic controllers, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The ground stop affected Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and Richmond International Airport, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced on social media on Friday. The declaration caused flight delays to soar to roughly two hours across some of the busiest airports in the country.

Flights began to leave the airports after 7pm ET on Friday, but the ground stop—which prevents planes from landing at an airport—remained in place. The smell was coming from Potomac TRACON, Duffy wrote, referring to a terminal radar approach control facility that manages air traffic for the DC, Baltimore, and Richmond-Charlottesville areas, according to the FAA website.

Duffy noted that the smell came from a circuit board that had overheated and since been replaced. 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.