Passengers at three airports in the Washington, DC, area faced significant delays after a ground stop was issued Friday afternoon due to an equipment outage, according to the FAA and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who posted details on X.
The disruptions were caused by the temporary closure of a crucial air traffic control center in Virginia after FAA employees reported a strong chemical smell in the building, Duffy said.
Emergency crews and a HAZMAT team responded to the facility. The smell was traced to a circuit board that had overheated and was subsequently replaced, Duffy said in an update…