Tennessee Secures Late Flight, Departs for Texas a&M Matchup

No. 8 Tennessee secured a late-night flight to Texas Friday night after the Federal Aviation Administration lifted a rare nationwide ground stop that had temporarily stranded the Volunteers on the tarmac in Knoxville.

FAA Ground Stop Delays Tennessee Football Team Departure

The Federal Aviation Administration halted all departures nationwide Friday afternoon due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.

The stoppage caught Tennessee’s football team just minutes before a scheduled 4 p.m. ET departure from McGhee Tyson Airport. Players and staff remained on their plane on the tarmac for roughly two hours before deplaning and returning to the Anderson Training Center on campus for dinner, awaiting further direction from athletic officials.

Athletic Director Bill Martin stated upon returning to the facility that the team was still awaiting direction. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Tennessee was among multiple programs placed in flight limbo.

Several other programs faced similar travel hurdles on Friday, including Texas, Ole Miss, Washington, and Baylor. While some teams scrambled to rearrange transit, programs such as Wake Forest, Mizzou, and South Carolina had already arrived at their road destinations before the FAA restriction took effect.

Texas a&M Confirms Game Schedule as Vols Depart

As athletic departments and conference offices monitored the situation, Texas A&M football issued a public statement addressing the uncertainty surrounding Saturday’s matchup at Kyle Field.

We are aware of the nationwide FAA ground stop and have been in communication with both the SEC and Tennessee regarding the situation. Those conversations will continue over the next several hours, and we will notify the public as soon as possible if there are any changes to our scheduled 2 p.m. CT kickoff.

Texas A&M Football, via X

Following conversations with the Southeastern Conference and Tennessee officials, Texas A&M confirmed that the game will proceed as scheduled with kickoff remaining at 2 p.m. CT on ESPN at Kyle Field.

After the FAA officially lifted the ground stop shortly before 8:30 p.m. ET, Tennessee athletic officials mobilized quickly to resume travel. ESPN insider Pete Thamel and On3 senior insider Chris Low both reported that Tennessee planned to leave Knoxville for College Station on Friday night following the clearance.

Bill Martin shared an update confirming that the team had boarded the plane for the one-hour, 45-minute flight to College Station, heading toward Easterwood Airport to prepare for Saturday’s contest.