Nearly an hour after being issued, the ground stop across America is still in effect. Flights are still landing, they’re just not allowed to take off.
A nationwide ground stop has disrupted air travel for millions of Americans, including athletes across major professional sports leagues and college teams scheduled to compete this weekend.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued the ground stop due to “extraordinary circumstances,” throwing a curveball at the sports world as teams scrambled to navigate travel disruptions ahead of their games.
GROUND STOP ORDERED BY FAA AT ALL AIRPORTS IN AMERICA DUE TO A ‘COMMUNICATION ISSUE’
The disruptions come ahead of a busy weekend of NBA, NHL and NFL action, along with a packed college football slate featuring top-ranked teams hitting the road to face their opponents.
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) said it is assessing travel disruptions from the nationwide FAA ground stop and could adjust this weekend’s competition schedules if necessary.
“We will continue to monitor developments and work with our institutions to determine whether any adjustments to scheduled competitions become necessary,” the SEC said in a statement.
The conference said it is coordinating with member schools and prioritizing the safety of student-athletes, coaches and team personnel.
Mississippi State Bulldogs team bus arrives prior to a college football game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the University of Arizona Wildcats on September 10, 2022 at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, AZ.
(Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Saturday’s highly anticipated SEC slate features No. 6 Texas visiting No. 21 LSU, No. 8 Tennessee traveling to Texas A&M and No. 19 Ole Miss visiting Oklahoma.
Some teams have turned to buses for shorter trips, including Purdue, which switched to a roughly five-hour ride to Iowa City after the ground stop disrupted its flight plans.
Big 4 weekend impact
The nationwide ground stop disrupted team travel ahead of a busy professional sports weekend, with five NBA games and 14 NHL games scheduled for Saturday.
The NBA’s Saturday slate features tip-offs from 7 to 8 p.m. ET. The Brooklyn Nets were grounded in New Orleans ahead of their trip to Memphis, while the Cavaliers, Bulls and Grizzlies planned to fly after Friday night’s games, the Associated Press reported.
With 14 NHL games on Saturday’s schedule and puck drops ranging from 1 to 10 p.m. ET, the San Jose Sharks were waiting to depart for Utah, while the Florida Panthers reached St. Louis before the ground stop, AP reported.
A JetBlue Airbus A320 plane with the NBA Boston Celtics livery, at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) on August 29, 2026 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
(Al Drago/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The NFL has 12 games scheduled for Sunday, beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET in Munich, followed by Monday night’s game at 8:15 p.m. ET.
Prolonged flight disruptions could complicate travel for visiting teams, which league guidelines require to arrive in the host city at least 18 hours before kickoff when traveling by air.
The NFL’s emergency rules give the commissioner authority to reschedule games if an emergency prevents them from starting.
Source: www.foxweather.com
