Secretary of Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy has announced a sudden “ground stop” of airplanes arriving and departing from at least four U.S. airports, according to several breaking reports on Friday:
🚨BREAKING🚨 GROUND STOP CURRENTLY AT THE FOLLOWING AIRPORTS:
⚠️ Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
⚠️ Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
⚠️ Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI)⁰⚠️ Richmond International Airport (RIC)@FAANews is working to…— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) March 13, 2026
Duffy made the announcement in an X post, which shares the reason for the stop, “a strong odor”:
BREAKING GROUND STOP CURRENTLY AT THE FOLLOWING AIRPORTS: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) Richmond International Airport (RIC)
is working to address the source of a strong odor coming from Potomac TRACON that is impacting operations at the three airports. For the most up to date information on your flight status, visit https://nasstatus.faa.gov
WBAL-TV has more details on what’s known right now about the stop, and the reference to “Potomac TRACON”:
A strong chemical smell that affected air traffic controllers prompted an hours-long ground stop at multiple airports, including Baltimore’s.
…
A ground delay is in effect until at least 12:59 a.m. Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Flight delays of more than an hour have been reported.
…
An FAA representative sent a statement to WBAL-TV 11 News at 6 p.m., referring to the Potomac Consolidated Terminal RADAR Approach Control (TRACON).
“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.”
The report notes that the emergency might affect smaller airports, as well:
Other airports along the East Coast also impacted included Washington Dulles International, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Richmond International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, Charlottesville Albemarle Airport, Manassas Regional Airport/Harry P. Davis Field and others.
This is a breaking story. RedState will provide updates as more information becomes available.
