A rare FAA shutdown of all departing U.S. flights on Friday afternoon sent college football travel plans into chaos, and Ole Miss was one of the teams caught in the middle as it tried to get to Norman for Saturday’s game against Oklahoma.
The Athletic’s David Ubben reported that Ole Miss was among several programs still working through travel complications, though many teams had already made it to their destinations before the stoppage hit. Texas Tech, for example, was already in Oklahoma for its game against Oklahoma State.
Tennessee, Washington and Ole Miss are trying to finalize transit to road games this weekend. No idea how long this FAA grounding will be.
Wake Forest, Mizzou and South Carolina have already arrived to their destinations.
- David Ubben (@davidubben) November 13, 2026
Chase Parham, who covers Ole Miss for 247Sports and CBS Sports, later said at 4:30 p.m. CT that the Rebels had been told to go home until 6 p.m.
CT. He reported that Ole Miss was planning to leave later in the night, though a postponement of the game until Sunday was also being discussed.
Parham also noted that the Rebels do not plan to bus all the way to Norman.
- Chase Parham (@ChaseParham) November 13, 2026
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy confirmed the nationwide stoppage, saying the FAA “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.”
The @FAAnews 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.
- Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 13, 2026
Duffy’s update came almost exactly 24 hours before Ole Miss and Oklahoma are scheduled to kick off at 3:15 p.m. CT at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
The FAA later posted at 4:02 p.m. that “There has been a temporary telecommunications outage - out of an abundance of caution all flights have been halted. Every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case by case basis.”
There has been a temporary telecommunications outage - out of an abundance of caution all flights have been halted. Every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case by case basis.
- The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) November 13, 2026
The ground stop is only the third nationwide departure halt in U.S. history. The first came on Sept. 11, 2001, and the second was in January 2023 because of a computer system malfunction. That 2023 delay lasted just over an hour, and this one had already gone beyond that point.
If the travel problems drag on long enough to affect Saturday’s schedule, the programs or the SEC would likely make an announcement. For now, the expectation is that if Ole Miss gets to Norman by Friday night, kickoff should still go on as planned.
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