A nationwide flight ground stop ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday disrupted travel plans for several NBA, NHL and college sports teams ahead of their weekend fixtures in the United States.
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The shutdown, which lasted more than four hours, was triggered by communications problems affecting regional air traffic control centres. The disruption forced teams to delay departures, rearrange flights and hotel bookings, while some college football programmes opted to travel by bus.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said after the restriction was lifted on Friday night that larger aircraft movements, including charter flights carrying sports teams, would receive priority as operations resumed.
“We’re going to allow for general aviation, those larger movements, to take place as a priority. Smaller movements will take lower priority,” Duffy said.
College football games affected
One of the biggest scheduling changes involved the game between No. 19 Ole Miss and Oklahoma, which was moved from Saturday to Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time because of the travel disruption.
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Oklahoma’s athletic director, Roger Denny, criticised the decision, saying the Southeastern Conference had threatened the university with a forfeit if it refused to accept the revised schedule.
In a statement posted on X, Denny said he understood that difficult decisions could be necessary during exceptional circumstances but argued that the change was unfair to the players, the institution and its supporters.
Several other college football teams also faced travel difficulties as they prepared for Saturday’s games.No. 2 Utah was scheduled to visit No. 22 Arizona, No. 8 Texas was due to face No. 24 LSU, while No. 9 Tennessee was travelling to play Texas A&M.
Texas and Tennessee returned to their campuses after their flights were affected. Both schools later began arranging new departures after the ground stop was lifted.
Auburn instead travelled by bus to Mississippi State, prompting the SEC to move the game’s kickoff from noon to 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time. Purdue also opted to travel by bus from West Lafayette, Indiana, for its fixture against Iowa.Other schools affected included Baylor, Washington, Kansas State, Minnesota and Arizona State.
The Big 12 also adjusted its schedule. The Kansas-West Virginia game was moved forward from 5:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time because Kansas had arrived in sufficient time.
The change allowed the conference to move Arizona State’s game against UCF from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., giving the Sun Devils additional time after their flight from Arizona to Florida was delayed.
Washington returned to campus after its flight was grounded but eventually departed late Friday for its game against Michigan State. The fixture was moved back by 75 minutes to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Big Ten later said all officials scheduled to oversee its Saturday games had reached their destinations.
Some teams had already completed their journeys before the ground stop took effect. They included teams travelling in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Missouri, Duke and No. 10 Texas Tech.
NFL teams scheduled to play on Sunday were expected to travel on Saturday as originally planned.NBA and NHL teams face delaysThe disruption also affected professional basketball and hockey teams.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, who played in Miami on Friday night, had to postpone their return flight until Saturday morning. The team expected to arrive in Cleveland about eight hours before its home game against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Cavaliers also had to rearrange hotel accommodation in Miami after checking out earlier in the day.
“It’s part of it. You just adapt,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said.
At least two other NBA teams also had Friday night flights moved to Saturday morning, although they were not scheduled to play that evening.
The NHL had 14 games scheduled for Saturday. While the Florida Panthers had reached their destination before the disruption, the San Jose Sharks were left waiting in California before eventually arriving in Utah late Friday.
Women’s basketball and soccer also affected
The flight restrictions also disrupted travel for the University of Southern California women’s basketball team.
JuJu Watkins and her third-ranked teammates were preparing to travel from Los Angeles to South Carolina for a Sunday game against the top-ranked Gamecocks.
The team had boarded its aircraft at Los Angeles International Airport when the ground stop was announced. Passengers were later instructed to leave the plane, forcing the team to return to its campus.
In the National Women’s Soccer League, the Utah Royals were already in the Washington, DC, area ahead of their semifinal against the Washington Spirit on Saturday.
However, the Kansas City Current were scheduled to fly out on Friday for their Sunday semifinal against Gotham FC in New York, with uncertainty surrounding when their departure would be cleared.
The US national team’s match against Haiti in Miami was unaffected because both teams and match officials had already arrived for the first leg of their CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal tie.
The FAA’s decision therefore disrupted several sporting schedules across the country, although teams and leagues worked to reorganise travel and kickoff times to keep most weekend fixtures on track.