Federal officials confirmed that the control tower at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey had been evacuated following reports of a possible fire and that flights there were temporarily suspended on Monday morning, March 23.
“Arriving and departing flights at the New Jersey airport were temporarily halted as air traffic controllers evacuated the tower due to a burning smell coming from the elevators,” Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesman Rick Breitenfeldt told USA TODAY.
Breitenfeldt said the incident was reported around 7:30 a.m. local time.
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Air traffic controllers returned to their posts about 30 minutes after the incident was reported and the ground stop was canceled, officials said.
It’s unclear what caused the incident or whether anyone was injured.
This is a development story.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter at USA TODAY. Contact her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Newark Airport orders ground stop after control tower evacuated