WNBA teams don’t travel on chartered flights like their NBA counterparts do, and that makes for one heckuva travel nightmare for the Indiana Fever as they prepare to host the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night.
After playing Sunday in Seattle, the Fever were scheduled to fly back to Indiana via a connecting flight in Atlanta. Players and staff boarded the plane for 10:30 p.m. PT takeoff, but the flight was delayed because the flight crew hadn’t arrived.
They boarded a new plane only to be sent back to the terminal because of a mechanical issue. Little did they know that their troubles were just getting started.
They wound up flying out of Seattle to Atlanta later than expected, which led to the next nightmare: They missed their connecting flight to Indianapolis.
What does an entire team do when no other flights can accommodate them?
They get a bus and ride it about eight hours, but not without some more issues: They had to switch drivers halfway through because the original driver reached an hours limit and a mechanical issue.
Natalie Achonwa of the Fever documented each issue during the 22-hour trip.
game ended in Seattle at 6:30p. We’ve been at the airport since 7:45p. Flight was SUPPOSED to depart at 10:30p (had an hr layover in ATL, then to IND). Delayed till 11:30p. Board the plane, but now we just had to deplane for “mechanical issues”. pic.twitter.com/HeoqkDd28P
— Natalie Achonwa (@NatAchon) June 24, 2019
12:29AM: pic.twitter.com/eRsbXM8pgl
— Natalie Achonwa (@NatAchon) June 24, 2019
let’s try this again…. boarding a new airplane.
12:50AM: pic.twitter.com/wKdmRpcpae
— Natalie Achonwa (@NatAchon) June 24, 2019
YOOOOO they gave us blankets for this flight!!! pic.twitter.com/gFQmrhpuvf
— Natalie Achonwa (@NatAchon) June 24, 2019
UPDATE: 8:44AM, breakfast of champions.
soooo we made it to Atlanta… but EVERY flight to Indy is already overbooked…. and we have a 18 person travel party. 🙃 pic.twitter.com/PUoO9c1wUh
— Natalie Achonwa (@NatAchon) June 24, 2019
WELP, the good news is we got real food for breakfast.
not so good news….. we are now busing 8hrs from ATL to IND. pic.twitter.com/D1LjRcEZsn
— Natalie Achonwa (@NatAchon) June 24, 2019
pitstop to switch drivers because one driver isn’t allowed to drive that long/far 🙃🙃🙃 pic.twitter.com/T27N1xXHuI
— Natalie Achonwa (@NatAchon) June 24, 2019
WE LITERALLY CANT MAKE THIS STUFF UP.
pitstop #2. potential bus issues. pic.twitter.com/nbXrwEZgL6
— Natalie Achonwa (@NatAchon) June 24, 2019
for those asking for an update…..
our bus driver ‘fixed’ the bus and we hopped back on the road. 4.5hrs left to Indy. naps, snacks, & movies. #AAUvibes #ballislife pic.twitter.com/gbESYd8rMg
— Natalie Achonwa (@NatAchon) June 24, 2019
WHAT. A. DAY.
22hrs of travel post game.
arrived home 23hrs before tipoff (tomorrow 7p vs Minnesota).
but, by the grace of God, we made it. #AllForLove pic.twitter.com/TOxCaxnhU6
— Natalie Achonwa (@NatAchon) June 25, 2019
According to ESPN, league officials plan to discuss the inclusion of chartered flights for all WNBA teams during an upcoming collective bargaining agreement. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in December that “the cost is prohibitive to making that a realistic possibility right now.”
