FAA ground stop throws college football into chaos, while the NFL is safe
A Federal Aviation Administration ground stop that lasted more than four hours and canceled over 7,000 flights Friday affected the travel plans for several teams across multiple sports.Follow along for live coverageMultiple games in college football had to be rescheduled to accommodate new travel plans, while a handful of NBA teams changed their flights as a result of the ground stop.Every NFL game, meanwhile, will be played as scheduled, as all road teams were scheduled to travel Saturday.
A few backup referees for the NFLEvery NFL game will stick to its original start time, a league spokesman confirmed to NBC News.Teams playing Sunday typically do not travel until Saturday, meaning the league was largely unaffected by the Friday ground stop.The New England Patriots and Detroit Lions, who are playing in Munich, Germany, both traveled overseas well ahead of the stop.While the league’s teams and players will arrive as scheduled, the NFL did have to modify officiating crews for Sunday’s games.
NFL referee Duane Heydt in Seattle on Oct.25.Alika Jenner / Getty“Due to the ongoing nationwide impact to air travel this weekend, the NFL has adjusted its officiating assignments for Week 10 games, reassigning officials to games within driving distance of their hometowns,” a league spokesman said.
Three backup referees — Duane Heydt, Barry Anderson and Don Willard — will be used Sunday.Heydt was assigned to a game in New Orleans, Anderson in Tennessee, while Willard will be the side judge for games in both Indianapolis and Cincinnati.
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