No. 3 Alabama is heading to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt at 12:45 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Crimson Tide took a somewhat unexpected route to Music City.
According to Ryan Fowler of Tide 100.9, Alabama did not fly to Nashville and instead took a bus because the Tuscaloosa airport was undergoing runway work.
Alabama has been flying out of Birmingham to travel to games this season, but since Nashville is less than four hours by bus from Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide decided to drive there instead.
The FAA Has Grounded Flights
Driving to the game doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but now it is, since the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a nationwide ground stop for Friday flights.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy posted a statement at 4:16 p.m. ET
“The FAA has issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them,” Duffy wrote.
With the FAA delaying air travel, teams could miss playing college football games on Saturday if they didn’t arrive at their destination. However, Alabama won’t have anything to worry about since it did get on the bus.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel did note that several college football teams have yet to fly to their destinations.
“There’s numerous college football teams that have yet to fly to their destinations. If this continues, it could significantly impact college football tomorrow,” Thamel wrote at 4:45 p.m. ET on X.
This article will be updated with more information.
Will Alabama Crimson Tide Be Affected by FAA Ground Stop?