FAA's Nationwide Ground Stop of Flights Impacts Air Travel for NBA, NHL, CFB, More Teams

Sports teams around the United States are being impacted by a nationwide ground stop issued Friday by the FAA.

The ground stop, which Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said was due to "a communication issue" impacting air traffic controllers, saw several major airports ground all flights starting around 4 p.m. ET Friday afternoon.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Pete Thamel reported at least a dozen Group of 6 college football teams had yet to depart for Saturday games as of the time of the ground stop.

That includes several programs slated for marquee weekend matchups including No. 8 Tennessee, No. 6 Texas and No. 2 Utah, per Schlabach and Thamel.

Five NBA teams are scheduled to fly Friday, according to The Athletic's Joe Vardon. That included the Brooklyn Nets, which were in New Orleans on a plane bound for Memphis but did not take off before the ground stop, per Vardon.

The NHL's San Jose Sharks were scheduled to travel Friday to Salt Lake City. The status of their flight has not been confirmed, per The Athletic's Rich Hammond.

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This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis.

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