By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration halted traffic at the three primary Washington, DC-area airports late on Friday after an odor was detected at a Virginia air traffic control facility, the agency said.
The FAA said the odor forced the evacuation of Potomac Consolidated Terminal RADAR Approach Control or TRACON, which controls airspace over numerous airports in the Washington region. The FAA issued ground stops at Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles, Baltimore and smaller airports in Charlottesville and Richmond around 6:40 p.m. EDT.
It is the second time in two weeks an odor at the facility in Warrenton, Virginia has snarled traffic.
A person briefed on the matter said the odor was a burning smell that appeared similar to an issue that prompted the FAA on March 13 to halt air traffic. The FAA said on March 13 it had halted work because of a strong chemical smell tied to a circuit board that overheated.
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.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese)
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