Minnesota football flights faced delays Friday when a federal ground stop halted departures.
The Golden Gophers boarded their Sun Country Airlines flight at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport.
A federal order halted departures nationwide.
Transportation officials cited communication problems across 22 regional air traffic control centers.
The team deplaned and returned to campus.
“The University of Minnesota football was on its charter flight about to depart for Penn State when the FAA nationwide ground stoppage went into effect,” Minnesota Senior Associate Athletic Director Paul Rovnak said to Onward State.
The airspace closure stretched past four hours.
Fourteen college football teams saw their flights grounded by the emergency order.
Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas, Purdue, Washington, Oregon State, Wyoming, and North Texas faced disruptions.
Teams in flight limbo: Big 12: Baylor, Kansas State, Utah and Arizona State SEC: Ole Miss, Tennessee and Texas ACC: All visiting teams on the ground. Big Ten: Minnesota, Purdue and Washington ALSO confirmed in limbo — Oregon State, Wyoming and North Texas. https://t.co/90SdwxZvmW
All visiting Atlantic Coast Conference teams were affected.
Purdue took buses from West Lafayette, Indiana, to face Iowa.
A potential 15-hour drive between Minneapolis and eastern Pennsylvania made busing an unreasonable option for Minnesota.
United States Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy addressed the emergency stoppage.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin also spoke.
Officials attributed the disruption to Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control issues.
Secretary Duffy said restrictions were beginning to lift.
Minnesota is set to fly Saturday morning to Penn State. Game is set for 7 ET.
Clearing the backlog of delayed or canceled flights nationwide would be slow.
Priority went to larger aircraft.
The FAA lifted the grounding order Friday evening.
Commercial and charter operations resumed.
From a Minnesota spokesman: The University of Minnesota football team was on its charter flight about to depart for Penn State when the FAA nationwide ground stoppage went into affect. As a result, the Gophers were unable to travel to Penn State on Friday for Saturday’s game.…
Minnesota rearranged its travel schedule to fly out on Saturday morning.
The team headed to a prime-time game at Beaver Stadium.
“Penn State is in communication with the Big Ten Conference and the University of Minnesota,” Penn State Athletics said in a statement.
“We will continue to closely monitor the situation and will share updates when available,” Athletics said.
Both programs enter the Week 11 matchup holding matching 5-4 overall records.
The Golden Gophers carry a 3-3 conference mark into Happy Valley.
The Nittany Lions sit at 2-4 in Big Ten play.
Penn State ranks 14th in the FBS at plus-7 in turnover margins.
Minnesota follows closely at 19th with a plus-6 margin.
Earlier coverage: FAA Ground Stop Forces College Football Teams to Revise Travel Plans
