Flights resumed at all Washington, D.C.-area airports approximately one hour after an air traffic control issue suspended flights Sunday evening, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Twitter.
The FAA announced a pause on all inbound flights and issued a ground stop due to a communications system issue at their Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility. Shortly afterwards, the agency announced that D.C.-bound flights from New York, the West Coast, the Midwest and Florida had resumed.
The FAA has paused departures to D.C.-area airports while repairs to a communications system are made at Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control facility. The facility has switched to a backup system.
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) June 25, 2023
While repairs were made, all communications systems were handled by a backup system, according to the FAA. During the repairs, all departures from Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) and Dulles International (IAD) airports were subjected to a ground stop, the AP reported. The ground stop also affected the Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) and Richmond International Airport (RIC), according to FOX5. (RELATED: Biden To Appoint Acting FAA Chief With No Airline Industry Experience: REPORT)
One hour after they issued the ground stop, the FAA announced departures had resumed after repairs were made to a communications power panel.
Departures to D.C.-area airports have resumed and repairs to the communications power panel are complete.
During the repairs, a back-up system handled communications safely.
Normal operations are resuming.
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) June 25, 2023
While some outlets reported the equipment issue was due to a fire in a control tower, FOX5 reports an FAA representative said there was no fire.