BOZEMAN — A nationwide ground stop has stopped the Montana State University Bobcats football team in their tracks.
The Bobcats were on an Allegiant charter flight at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport.
"I'm on board traveling with the team," MTN Sports' Toni Wetmore said. "At around 3:15, the team got off the plane and are now waiting inside the airport. The team told me they don't know what's going to happen next."
According to airport CEO Brian Sprenger, eight airliners are on the ground at BZN, with one flight having arrived not too long ago.
The Bobcats are scheduled to fly to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and then drive to Greeley, where they play Northern Colorado at noon tomorrow.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued the nationwide ground stop on all air traffic at U.S. airports Friday due to "extraordinary circumstances."
The stop was placed "DUE TO EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES AND FOR REASONS OF SAFETY." The stop requires that all air traffic set to depart U.S. airports remain grounded. Any flights already airborne would be allowed to proceed to their destinations.
Officials said the stop would remain in place until further notice.
An air traffic controller who spoke to Scripps News on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak publicly, said at approximately 3:36pm Eastern Time, they received notice of a frequency issue prompting a ground stop at one airport on the East Coast. Within minutes, two additional control towers reported similar issues. Shortly thereafter, the nationwide stop was announced.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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