DC’s Dulles airport gates closed by smoke

A handful of gates at Dulles International Airport in Washington were closed briefly on Thursday while officials searched for the source of smoke that was seen by passengers inside one of the airport’s terminals.

“We are currently working to locate the source of the hazy smoke that’s visible indoors near the #Dulles A-gates,” airport officials tweeted Thursday morning before clarifying that no fire was involved in producing the smoke.

Dulles officials said they placed ventilation fans near the affected gates to clear up the smoke before allowing passengers to return to the area.

{mosads}“#Dulles gates A1 through A6 are reopened to passengers,” the airport tweeted at the conclusion of Thursday’s incident. “Operations have returned to normal.”

Dulles ranks 23rd busiest airport in the U.S. in terms of passenger traffic, ranking second in the metropolitan Washington area behind Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.