A strong chemical smell has forced a temporary halt to flights at four major airports near Washington, D.C. The FAA says air traffic controllers cannot manage traffic safely during the incident. On Friday evening, officials stopped departures at Reagan National, Dulles, Baltimore-Washington, and Richmond airports. The FAA links the smell to Potomac TRACON, the radar facility that guides flights in the region. Departures resumed after 7 p.m. Eastern, but arrivals remain paused for about another hour. Delays jumped to around two hours at some airports. About one-third of departing flights faced delays.
