FAA lifts ground stop order as college football teams keep scrambling to find alternate travel plans

Ground stop disrupts Friday travel

The FAA halted flights nationwide on Friday because of communication problems at regional air traffic control centers. The agency said the measure was taken “due to extraordinary circumstances and reasons for safety,” according to The Associated Press.

The order began at about 4:15 p.m. Eastern time, a common travel window for college football teams flying to Saturday games. The FAA lifted it around 8:30 p.m., but the pace at which teams could resume travel was uncertain that night.

Several college teams affected

The Athletic reported that more than a dozen college programs faced travel problems by late Friday afternoon. Those included No. 2 Utah, No. 6 Texas and No. 8 Tennessee, each scheduled for a road game.

Reports described delays across several teams. Washington was waiting on buses before a flight to Michigan State, Colorado State was grounded before traveling to Washington State, and Kansas State had not departed for TCU by Friday afternoon.

UNLV could not board its charter to play New Mexico, while Mississippi was grounded before its trip to Oklahoma. Auburn changed plans after its flight to Mississippi State was stopped and was taking a bus to Starkville, On3 reported.

Schedule changes under review

The Big 12 said it was “evaluating potential changes to Saturday’s football schedule” in a statement to Yahoo Sports. The outlet reported that one possibility was exchanging game time slots.

The travel interruptions also affected professional teams. Five NBA teams were due to fly Friday for Saturday games, and the Brooklyn Nets’ flight to Memphis was halted in New Orleans, the AP reported. The Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies were also scheduled to fly Friday night after playing that evening, according to the AP.