Purdue’s Week 11 trip to Iowa turned into a bus ride after a nationwide air traffic problem forced the Boilermakers to change course.
The team had already boarded a plane and was reportedly sitting on the runway for 75 minutes before learning it would not be flying to Iowa City. Purdue will now head to Saturday night’s game at Kinnick Stadium by bus.
That travel scramble comes at a rough time for the Boilermakers, who have dropped three straight games to Washington, Penn State, and Maryland. Their regular season finishes with matchups against Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana, and the first of those now comes with an unexpected logistical headache.
The change stems from a rare nationwide ground stop ordered by the FAA on Friday afternoon after a communications issue affected air traffic control across the country. ABC News reported that the FAA and the Department of Homeland Security have repeatedly said it does not appear nefarious, and that the order was issued for safety reasons.
It is the second nationwide ground stop since 9/11, with the previous one coming in 2023. The investigation is still ongoing, and no initial report has identified the cause of the failure or the ripple effects that followed.
For now, all flights are grounded for an undetermined period, and planes already in the air are being diverted to the nearest airports.
College football has been caught in the mess, too. Minnesota, Michigan State, and Purdue are the Big Ten programs affected, leaving several conference games in uncertainty. Purdue has already pivoted to buses for Iowa City, while it remains unclear whether Michigan State can get to Washington or Minnesota can get to Pennsylvania for its game against Penn State.
There has also been chatter that games around the country could be pushed to Sunday or later, though nothing has been announced. Reports indicate all referees are already in place for the weekend, so if the games are played, they’ll have the proper officiating crews.
As of now, the Iowa-Purdue game is still scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Central Time on Saturday, November 14.
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