FAA grounds flights at DC-area airports due to ‘strong odor’ at Potomac TRACON

A “strong odor” reported at a key air traffic control center disrupted air traffic Friday evening at major airports across the Washington, DC state, for the second time in two weeks.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has temporarily suspended flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI), Charlottesville–Albemarle Airport (CHO) and Richmond International Airport (RIC), the agency told FOX Business via email.

The FAA said the disruption was due to a “strong odor” at the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility, which controls airspace in the region.

GROUND STOP PROPOSED AT MAJOR DC-AREA AIRPORTS AFTER CHEMICAL CANS DISRUPTED TRAFFIC CONTROL

It was not yet clear what caused the smell.

Ground stops at Dulles, Reagan National and BWI remained operational until 8pm ET before being lifted, according to the FAA website.

NEWARK AIR AIRCRAFT CONTROLLERS LOST RADAR, COMMUNICATION RADIO FOR MORE THAN A MINUTE, CAUSING CHAOS.

The FAA said the disruption was due to a “strong odor” at the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility. (Flightradar24)

As of 8:30 pm, Reagan National was experiencing ground delays, while BWI continued to see departure delays.

Earlier this month, a ground stop was similarly lifted at several airports in the Washington, DC region, after a chemical odor was detected at the TRACON facility.

FATAL LAGUARDIA COLLISION RENEWS FOCUS ON RUNWAY ENTRANCE HAZARDS

Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy speaks at a news conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. (Photos by Heather Diehl / Getty Images)

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

The March 13 outage equally affected DCA, IAD, BWI and RIC, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the time.

Duffy said the smell came from an overheated, replaced circuit board.