Prior to their NFL Week 18 game against the Denver Broncos, the Kansas City Chiefs’ team plane was unable to depart Kansas City International Airport (MCI) on Saturday afternoon as planned. Due to the quick formation of ice, MCI declared that it would be shutting down flight operations on Saturday at 2:50 p.m. local time. According to local FOX 4 anchor Harold Kuntz, the Chiefs were “stranded” on the runway five minutes before their planned departure. The predicted kickoff temperature in Denver is 32 degrees under sunny skies, and kickoff is set for Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET. However, many supporters were perplexed by the Chiefs’ failure to dodge a “colossal” winter weather storm when leaving Kans
“Why didn’t they leave early???? Did they not see the storm warnings???” wondered a fan on X. “We knew this storm was coming all week,” said another post. “Who decided the Chiefs shouldn’t leave for Denver until Saturday afternoon???”
The Chiefs literally didn't care enough about tomorrow's game to take an earlier flight knowing a massive storm was coming lol. https://t.co/D1CXGAaU57
— Seth Keysor (@RealMNchiefsfan) January 4, 2025
The National Weather Service posted about the possibility of a “significant & impactful” winter storm as early as Thursday morning. It is standard for NFL teams to leave about 24 hours before an away game, as the Chiefs were planning Saturday afternoon.
The team plane eventually departed around 5:20 p.m. local time. Beat writer Matt Derrick reported that the team attempted to move up the flight time on Saturday, but there were no charter planes available. However, fans were still unhappy with the explanation. “Should have left yesterday and taken no chances,” said a perturbed fan on X. “Moronic beyond belief.”
Can confirm, Chiefs charter still at MCI. The club tried to move the flight up but the charter plane was delayed arriving in KC and had to stick with regularly scheduled departure.
Hope is a runway gets cleared and takeoff possible soon. https://t.co/z4WIJAW6op
— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) January 4, 2025
In an anonymous NFL report card player survey from February 2024, the Chiefs received a “D” grade in the category of travel. “I expect a similar grade at the end of this season,” noted one response on X.
Even though Kansas City had little to lose in the regular season finale, the lack of “forethought” was ultimately what irritated fans the most. They dismissed it as needless theater leading up to a game that should be forgotten. With the No. 1 seed in the AFC already guaranteed, Carson Wentz has been named the team’s starter, allowing starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes to rest. Kareem Hunt, George Karlaftis, Justin Reid, Drue Tranquill, Chris Jones, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones are all labeled as “doubtful.”
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