FAA nationwide flight ground stop disrupts travel for NBA, NHL and college football teams
A temporary FAA-ordered grounding of all U.S. flights on Friday forced several professional and college sports teams to rearrange travel, delay games and use alternative transportation.
The Federal Aviation Administration halted all flights across the United States for several hours on Friday, citing "extraordinary circumstances" linked to communications problems at regional air traffic control centers. The interruption left NBA, NHL and college football teams scrambling to reach their destinations for weekend games.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the agency would prioritize larger general-aviation movements after the ground stop was lifted, while smaller flights would receive lower priority. He advised football teams using charter flights to coordinate directly with the FAA to secure departure times.
College football programs scheduled to travel on Saturday, including No. 2 Utah, No. 8 Texas and No. 9 Tennessee, were delayed as they attempted to depart for road games. The SEC confirmed it was monitoring the situation and emphasized the safety of student-athletes and staff. Auburn and Purdue opted to travel by bus, prompting the SEC to push Auburn's game start to 4:15 p.m. EST and the Big 12 to adjust kickoff times for Kansas-West Virginia and Arizona State-UCF contests.
Other affected schools included Baylor, Washington, Kansas State, Minnesota and No. 19 Ole Miss, which postponed its flight to Oklahoma until Saturday morning. The Big 12 and Big Ten reported that officials and referees arrived as scheduled.
In the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers postponed their return flight to Saturday morning after playing in Miami, and coach Kenny Atkinson noted the team had to adapt to the change. Several other NBA teams also shifted Friday night flights to Saturday.
NHL teams largely reached their destinations before the stoppage, though the San Jose Sharks experienced delays. Collegiate women's basketball and National Women’s Soccer League teams also faced travel disruptions, with some flights being de-boarded and teams returning to their home venues.
The U.S. men’s national soccer team’s match against Haiti in Miami proceeded as planned, as both squads were already in town.