The Minnesota Vikings contest against the Green Bay Packers is going to look a little bit different than the NFL initially planned following nationwide air travel concerns.
Several flights ended up postponed or cancelled after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a full ground stop across the United States that lasted for roughly four hours on Friday, November 13 due to a telecommunications breakdown that impacted every air traffic control tower in the country.
In response to the aftermath of a nearly unprecedented halt to American air travel, the league made several adjustments including to its officiating schedules. Namely, the NFL reassigned referees to games close enough to their places of residence that the officials will be able to drive to their games and avoid airports altogether, per ESPN.
Kevin Seifert of ESPN took to social media on Saturday to explain what that will mean for the Vikings’ showdown with the Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
Miami at Indianapolis (1 p.m. ET) Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (8:20 p.m. ET)
Vikings-Packers referee has changed from John Hussey to Clete Blakeman.
How significant is the NFL’s officiating shuffle? Backup referee Don Willard will work TWO games on Sunday:
MClete Blakemanapolis (1 p.m. ET)
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (8:20 p.m. ET)Vikings-Packers referee has changed from John Hussey to Clete Blakeman.
Vikings Should Get to Green Bay Without Hassle, Play Packers at Normal Time
The FAA lifted the ground stop as of Friday evening, after which air travel slowly got underway again across the country.
Several sports teams made changes to their itineraries, including at the college ranks, which led the NCAA to reschedule some contests to different times.
The Vikings-Packers contest was always in less danger of changing given that Minneapolis is between a 4-5 hour drive from Green Bay. Had it proven necessary, the Vikings could have chartered a few busses and driven east on Interstate 94 on Saturday to get to the game in plenty of time.
That certainly would have been an extra layer of disadvantage to Minnesota, but it appears that the Vikings will be able to fly to Green Bay as planned for the NFC North Division showdown this weekend.
NFL Announces Major Change to Vikings, Packers Game