A nationwide Federal Aviation Administration ground stop Friday delayed travel for NBA, NHL and college teams and left NFL and other scheduled events uncertain.
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A nationwide Federal Aviation Administration ground stop Friday disrupted travel for sports teams around North America, leaving some teams stranded and others uncertain about whether flights would resume in time for weekend events.
The FAA issued a notice saying the ground stop was “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later said there was a communications issue affecting the 22 regional air traffic control centres that direct planes en route between airports nationwide, and that FAA technicians were investigating.
Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said, “There’s no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they’re flying.”
For college football, most teams playing Saturday travel the day before their game. The stoppage left several schools at a standstill as they departed for road games, including No. 2 Utah, eighth-ranked Texas and No. 9 Tennessee. The Utes are scheduled to play at No. 22 Arizona, the Longhorns were to visit No. 24 LSU and the Vols were travelling to Texas A&M in three of the bigger matchups of the weekend.
“The Southeastern Conference is aware of the FAA’s nationwide ground stop and the potential impact on team travel for this weekend’s competitions,” the league said in a statement, adding it was in close communication with member institutions to assess disruptions and coordinate responses.
The Longhorns posted on social media a video of them boarding their plane before the stoppage began. A Texas team spokesman said, “We are grounded and waiting to see when we can leave.”
Other schools affected by the ground stop included No. 19 Ole Miss, Baylor, Washington, Kansas State and Minnesota. San Jose State’s football team had boarded a plane and was on the runway for a trip to Air Force when the plane turned around and returned to the gate; the team went back to campus and was waiting to see what happens.
It remained unclear whether referees would arrive in time for their assignments, with officials typically flying in the day before games.
Several teams were able to take off before the stoppage went into effect, including all those travelling in the Atlantic Coast Conference; Missouri flying to top-ranked Georgia; Duke visiting fifth-ranked Miami; and No. 10 Texas Tech, which posted on social media images of its arrival for a game at Oklahoma State.
In the NBA, the Nets were among five teams scheduled to fly Friday for games on Saturday. The team had just boarded its plane in New Orleans after playing the Pelicans earlier this week when its flight to Memphis was halted in place. The Pistons flew earlier to Miami, while the Cavaliers, Bulls and Grizzlies were due to fly after their Friday night games.
In the NHL, there were 14 scheduled games on Saturday. The Panthers were among the teams that made it to their destinations before the stoppage began, while the Sharks were left waiting in San Jose to see whether they could travel to Utah.
The FAA did not provide a timeline for restarting flights, leaving sporting events beyond Saturday in limbo, including most of the Week 10 NFL schedule and numerous college sporting events.
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