Smoke in control tower slows air traffic at Newark airport Flights couldn't take off or head for the airport because of a report of smoke in the control tower's elevator shaft. Traffic at Newark Liberty International Airport briefly came to a standstill Tuesday afternoon after smoke in the control tower's elevator shaft forced an evacuation. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a ground stop until air traffic controllers could move to an alternate location and start operating from a different part of the facility to handle traffic. The controllers returned to the tower and the ground stop was lifted at about 2 p.m. The FAA doesn't yet know the cause of the smoke or the number of delays that resulted from the ground stop. The Associated Press reported that ground delays are expected to continue until 8 p.m. ET, according to the FAA.