Flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were halted for several hours Tuesday as security measures for visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi disrupted air traffic, resulting in more than 100 cancellations and hundreds of delays, CBS News reported Wednesday.

Commercial arrivals and departures at the airport were suspended from about 11 a.m. ET until about 3 p.m. as authorities secured the airspace during the prime minister's visit to Washington, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The temporary shutdown rippled across one of the nation's busiest airports, with flight-tracking service FlightAware reporting more than 300 flight delays and at least 126 cancellations by Tuesday afternoon.

The disruptions occurred in the tightly controlled airspace surrounding the nation's capital, where commercial airlines operate alongside military aircraft under some of the country's most restrictive aviation rules.

According to a senior administration official, the White House and the Federal Aviation Administration coordinated throughout the visit to reduce the impact on travelers by providing airlines with updated schedules as security restrictions evolved.

Officials also allowed some aircraft in holding patterns to land at Reagan National while permitting certain planes already on the ground to depart once conditions allowed, the official said.

The heightened security came as Iraqi officials visited Washington amid ongoing regional tensions involving Iran, prompting additional protective measures for the prime minister.

Air traffic around Reagan National has remained under increased scrutiny since the deadly midair collision in 2025 between an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission.

In the aftermath of that accident, federal aviation officials imposed tighter restrictions on helicopter operations near the airport and established new procedures governing flights departing the Pentagon to transport senior military officials.