The nationwide air travel “ground stop” that halted domestic flights for several hours on Friday has finally been lifted.
But for families, travelers and teams in the sports world, the damage is still being felt.
Before the rush of college football games, with home kickoffs standing for more than four hours, as well as NBA and NHL games, teams have been scrambling to find their way to their destinations. The ground stop, implemented by the Federal Aviation Administration, was caused by a communication problem with regional air traffic control centers, and the FAA cited “extraordinary circumstances” to implement the ground stop.
Despite the suspension, the delay has caused flight chaos, with more than 2,500 flights canceled or even delayed.
Here’s how the world of sports was influenced.
FAA Grounds and College Football
Some teams took off from the ground stop early on Friday, and flights that were already in the air were able to reach their destinations. Missouri (traveling to Georgia), Duke (traveling to Miami) and No. 10 Texas Tech (traveling to Oklahoma State) all made it to their destinations safely, as did all the traveling teams in the ACC.
Due to the ground stop, Auburn traveled by bus to Mississippi State and the start of that game was pushed back to 4:15 p.m., originally scheduled to start at noon.
In the Big 12, kickoff between Kansas and West Virginia has been pushed to 3:30 pm, and Baylor’s game against No. 10 BYU has been moved to 7:00 pm.The biggest change is probably the game between Arizona State and UCF. The Sun Devils were ready to fly on Friday, but the team headed home. Arizona State will now fly cross country on Saturday, with the game now scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m., up from the original 3:30 p.m. kickoff time.
Game one of Saturday’s matchup between No. 19 Ole Miss and home team Oklahoma is Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
And the Sooners aren’t too happy about it. Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denney said in a lengthy statement on social media that after Ole Miss failed to secure travel accommodations Friday, commissioner Greg Sanke moved the game to Sunday “over our strong objections.” Denny also added that Sankey “made us even more aware that not playing on time on Sunday would result in defeat.”
Now we wait to see how it unfolds on Saturday.
FAA ground parking and NFL games
While NFL teams are expected to fly Saturday as previously scheduled, the league has implemented changes to its coaching staff. In an announcement released Saturday morning, the NFL adjusted officiating assignments for Week 10 games, assigning officials to games within driving distance of their hometowns.
That means three backup umpires — Barry Anderson, Duane Heidt and Don Willard — will also serve. Heidt will umpire Carolina-New Orleans, Anderson will umpire Jacksonville-Tennessee, and Anderson will serve as sideline umpire for both Miami-Indianapolis Sunday afternoon and Pittsburgh-Cincinnati Sunday night.
FAA ground parking and NBA games
There are five games in the NBA this Saturday, and while the Detroit Pistons arrive in Miami on Friday, other teams are still trying to reach their final destination. The Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies all played on Friday night and are set to fly out after the games.
However, one of the team’s stars is pushing for the game to be cancelled.
The Cavaliers played at Miami on Friday night and lost 133-121. The Cavaliers were set to host the Dallas Mavericks at home but were unable to fly on Friday due to a suspension and will be flying home on Saturday morning. Donovan Mitchell called the situation “UnprecedentedHe hopes the game is canceled.
FAA ground parking and NHL games
There are 14 games on the NHL schedule for Saturday. Most teams have already arrived, but the San Jose Sharks did not travel to Saturday’s game against the Utah Mammoths and are looking forward to their trip to Salt Lake City.
FAA ground parking and college basketball
On the men’s basketball side, Saturday’s Washington game at Utah has been moved to Sunday.
On the women’s basketball side, Sunday’s big game between No. 3 South Carolina and No. 3 USC is the question. USC was set to fly cross-country Friday, but JuJu Watkins and company were boarding at Los Angeles International Airport when the ground stop came out. The team finally returned to campus on Friday evening.
FAA ground parking and football
The NWSL semifinals are this weekend, and while one game may not be affected, the other is a bit of a question. The Utah Royals were in Washington DC ahead of Saturday’s semifinal against the Washington Spirit, but Kansas City’s current team was scheduled to fly to New York to face Gotham FC on Sunday, but the team was unable to fly as scheduled.
How do fans and even referees travel to games on weekends? As he says FlightAware.comMore than 4,200 flights were canceled on Saturday, and the number is increasing. And more than 11,000 flights were delayed. These cancellations and delays could impact the world of sports throughout the weekend.