Minnesota football’s flight from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport to State College Regional Airport is grounded due to a nationwide ground stop issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), per Pete Thamel. 

The FAA issued the ground stop in the United States just before 4 p.m. on Friday.

Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin recently spoke to the media about the situation, attributing it to a widespread telecommunications outage affecting Air Route Traffic Control Centers.

The timeline for air travel to resume remains unclear, though officials have suggested the delay could last hours if not days. United States Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and the FAA will provide updates as soon as they become available.

The Golden Gophers are set to play Penn State at 7 p.m. Saturday in Happy Valley.

The team’s private charter was set to depart at 2:30 p.m. on a Sun Country Airlines flight, but FlightAware indicates the flight is still scheduled and has yet to depart. 

If Minnesota is forced to drive to State College, Pennsylvania, the trip will take roughly 15 hours.

Other teams that are affected by the ground stop include Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas, Purdue, Washington, Oregon State, Wyoming, North Texas, and all ACC visiting teams.

Minnesota did not respond to a request for comments in time for publication about its travel situation or plan if the flight can’t take off in time for the game.

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