FACTS
A nationwide ground stop ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday, Nov. 13, disrupted NHL travel ahead of 14 games scheduled for Saturday, The Associated Press reported. The San Jose Sharks were among the teams left waiting to fly to Utah, while the Florida Panthers reached St. Louis before departures were halted. As of about 7 p.m. Eastern time, the NHL had not announced any postponements, according to sports outlets that reported on the league.
The disruption to NHL travel began shortly before 4 p.m. Eastern time, when the FAA halted departing flights at all U.S. airports “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” Stay Current News reported the ground stop earlier Friday. The FAA did not provide a timeline for restarting flights, The Associated Press reported in a story published at 6:14 p.m. Eastern time.
NHL travel: which teams were affected
“There are 14 scheduled games in the NHL on Saturday,” the AP reported. The Panthers made it to St. Louis for their game before the stoppage began, according to the AP, and the Sharks were among those left waiting to leave for their game in Utah.
The Sharks were scheduled to travel to Salt Lake City on Friday, but the status of their flight had not been confirmed, Bleacher Report reported, citing Rich Hammond of The Athletic. The Sharks are scheduled to play the Utah Mammoth at 9 p.m. Eastern time Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, according to a game preview published by Fox Sports AM 1280.
As of about 6:40 p.m. Eastern time, there was no word on any NHL postponements, For The Win reported. HockeyFeed also reported that no NHL games had been postponed or canceled and that the league had not confirmed any schedule changes. Stay Current News did not find a statement from the NHL about the ground stop.
Other leagues and college football
The Brooklyn Nets were among five NBA teams scheduled to fly Friday for Saturday games, and their flight from New Orleans to Memphis was halted after the team had boarded, the AP reported. The Detroit Pistons flew to Miami earlier in the day, while the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies were due to fly after their Friday night games, according to the AP. The NBA would not comment further on Saturday games until more information was available, For The Win reported.
An NFL spokesman said it was “too early” to say how teams would be affected and that the league could address the issue “if necessary,” according to For The Win.
College football games affected included No. 2 Utah at Arizona, No. 8 Texas at LSU and No. 9 Tennessee at Texas A&M, the AP reported. “We are grounded and waiting to see when we can leave,” a Texas team spokesman said, according to the AP. The AP also reported that it was unclear whether game officials would reach their assignments on time.
What officials have said about the ground stop
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the stoppage stemmed from a communications issue affecting the 22 regional air traffic control centers and that FAA technicians were investigating, the AP reported. The FAA said the communications issue was not a cyberattack, according to Fox News.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said it was “too early to tell” how long the outage would last, and said there were no current indications of a cyberattack or a terror threat, The Air Current reported. “There’s no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they’re flying,” Mullin said, according to the AP.
An earlier FAA advisory listed an estimated end time of 10 p.m. Central time, which is 11 p.m. Eastern, News On 6 reported, while the stop remained in place until further notice. As of about 7 p.m. Eastern time, none of the reports reviewed by Stay Current News said the ground stop had been lifted. This story will be updated as the NHL, its teams and the FAA release more information.
More sports news is on the Stay Current News Sports page.
Photo: File photo of an American Airlines Boeing 777 at a gate at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, not taken during the ground stop. Joe Jones / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
