Planes grounded at D.C.-area airports after odor in control tower
Planes grounded at D.C.-area airports after odor in control tower
Michael Loria, USA TODAY Sat, March 28, 2026 at 12:15 AM UTC
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Aviation authorities have issued a ground stop at Washington, D.C.-area airports after an unknown odor was detected at an air traffic control tower in Virginia, the second time in two weeks that a detected smell brought flight operations to a halt.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday, March 27 issued ground stops at Dulles International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Baltimore Washington International Airport, according to agency alerts.
Flightradar24, a flight tracking site, said inbound flights are holding or diverting. The airports have not had a departure since 6:40 p.m. EDT. The FAA said an update was expected around 8 p.m. EDT.
FlightAware said 25% of flights at Baltimore and National were delayed and 11% at Dulles.
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It wasn't immediately clear from the alert system where the odor was first reported.
The ground stops comes amid ongoing issues at the nation's airports where travelers have been snarled by long lines amid a partial government shutdown.
On March 13, three Washington, D.C.-area airports eventually reopened after a shutdown prompted by an overheated circuit board that created a troublesome "strong odor," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced. The source of the strong odor was traced to a circuit board that overheated, and it was replaced, Duffy said.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Planes grounded at D.C.-area airports after odor in control tower
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