FAA Issues Massive Ground Stop at DC-Area Airports Following Incident at Regional Control Center

New Delhi, March 14, 2026 – Tens of thousands of travelers faced significant disruptions Friday evening after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a sweeping ground stop for the three major airports serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

The order, which halted all incoming and outgoing flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), was triggered by an emergency situation at a critical air traffic control facility.

The Source of the Crisis: Potomac TRACON

The disruption originated at the Potomac Consolidated Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility located in Warrenton, Virginia. This site is the nerve center for the region’s aviation, managing the complex airspace for D.C., Baltimore, and parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania.

According to a statement from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, air traffic controllers reported a “strong chemical smell” permeating the facility. Out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of the personnel responsible for guiding thousands of passengers through the sky, the FAA initiated an immediate evacuation and a subsequent regional ground stop.

Impact on Travelers

The timing of the incident—occurring during the peak Friday evening rush and the height of the Spring Break travel season—exacerbated the chaos.

• DCA (Reagan National): Reported the most severe impact due to its high volume and limited slot capacity, with over 300 flight delays and 160 cancellations.
• IAD (Dulles) & BWI (Baltimore): Experienced delays averaging between two and three hours, with hundreds of flights affected.
• Wider Reach: The ground stop also extended to Richmond International Airport (RIC) and several smaller regional airfields including Charlottesville-Albemarle and Manassas.

Passengers across the region took to social media to share images of crowded terminals, with many travelers at Reagan National seen sitting on floors near gates as they waited for updates.

Investigation and Resolution

Local fire departments from Fauquier and Prince William counties were dispatched to the TRACON facility to investigate the source of the odor.

Following a thorough inspection, officials identified the culprit: a malfunctioning circuit board that had severely overheated, releasing acrid fumes into the ventilation system. Technicians promptly replaced the faulty equipment, and environmental tests confirmed that the air quality had returned to safe levels for the controllers to return to their stations.

“The ground stop is over and operations have resumed,” Secretary Duffy announced late Friday night. “Firefighters… confirm there is no danger to air traffic controllers. The source was traced to a circuit board that overheated.”

Current Status: What to Expect

While the FAA officially lifted the ground stop shortly after 7:45 p.m. ET, the “ripple effect” of the shutdown is expected to linger throughout the weekend.

Airlines are working to reposition aircraft and crews that were diverted to other cities—including Philadelphia and Charlotte—during the outage. Travel experts recommend that anyone flying through the D.C. corridor on Saturday, March 14, check their flight status directly with their airline before heading to the airport.