Key radar facility that controls airspace for the entire DC region evacuated over strong odor

Three major Washington, D.C.-area airports — Reagan National, Dulles and Baltimore-Washington International — are under immediate ground stops after a sudden equipment outage at Potomac TRACON.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the shutdown on X. Delays have already climbed past 90 minutes and continue rising. Passengers at Reagan National are stranded at gates, many sprawled on the floor waiting for updates.

The outage stems directly from a strong, unexplained odor reported inside Potomac TRACON. This single radar facility controls all civilian and military airspace over the entire capital region, including Andrews Air Force Base, BWI, Reagan National, Dulles, Richmond and Charlottesville airports.

FAA teams are working urgently to locate the source of the odor and restore operations. No timeline has been given for resolution.

Potomac TRACON is the nerve center for one of the busiest and most sensitive airspaces in the United States.