Flights have been halted at several Washington-area airports Friday after a strong chemical smell was reported at a nearby air traffic control facility, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
"The FAA has temporarily stopped traffic at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) because of a strong chemical smell at the Potomac TRACON that is impacting some air traffic controllers," the FAA told Scripps News in a statement.
Ground stops at the airports were expected to last through at least 8 p.m. Eastern time.
There was a medium probability that the ground stops at the affected airports would be extended, according to the FAA.
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A separate ground stop was in effect for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport due to staffing issues.
Arriving flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were also briefly stopped earlier on Friday due to snowy and icy conditions.
As of Friday afternoon, there had been close to 7,000 delays affecting U.S. flights and 647 cancellations, according to FlightAware.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
