Despite a multi-million-dollar investment in player travel, the New York Liberty were left waiting on the tarmac for 10 hours. According to an X post by The Athletic journalist Annie Costabile, the Liberty’s travel itinerary was affected by mechanical issues with their charter flight. This led to significant delays while the players kept waiting on the tarmac, leading to the league making a decision on their July 16 game against the Dallas Wings.  

“NEWS: Tonight’s game between the Liberty and the Wings has been postponed due to travel delays caused by mechanical issues with the Liberty’s charter plane, per the league.”

The WNBA announced in 2024 that it would be introducing charter flights for teams, redefining convenience and safety, with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert planning to commit $50 million to a charter flight service for teams. But due to the unprecedented flight issue, the Liberty were forced to postpone their game against the Wings at the College Park Center, per the X post by Costabile.

NY Liberty player Pauline Astier also shared an update on Instagram Stories, stating “10h après toujours sur le tarmac,” which translates to “10 hours later, still on the tarmac.”

Sources from the NY Post state that the Liberty was initially scheduled to travel at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. The team even switched flights after mechanical issues were discovered, but they eventually got out of it around midnight. Thunderstorms over New York compounded the delays, keeping the Liberty grounded.

With these persistent travel delays, the Wings-Liberty game will now be postponed to Monday, July 20. The Wings will allow entry for tickets purchased for the previous game.

The Dallas Wings players and the team were informed of this update before midnight. Rookie guard Azzi Fudd gave a sneak peek into the team’s reaction to this game’s postponement, according to the NY Times.

“It was definitely a weird wakeup. But I think we did a great job pivoting.”

While Fudd has only recently joined the league, the WNBA has also seen match postponements due to travel delays in the past. During the phase when teams had to take commercial flights, players sometimes had to wait for long hours at the airport due to flight delays. In 2018, the Las Vegas Aces spent 25 hours in transit, reaching their hotel just four hours before they were to take on the Washington Mystics.

The Aces eventually forfeited the game, but four years later, there was another travel incident. This time, it involved the Los Angeles Sparks. After four straight road games, their red-eye from DC was postponed to the next morning. 

The players had the option to either check into a hotel or spend the night at the terminal. Nneka Ogwumike posted a video of the same, sharing the situation with her followers. 

At the time, the Sparks had played six of their last seven on the road and gone 1-6. That one win came in the game just before their night at the airport. The next morning, they took a flight from DC to Los Angeles, where they hosted the Sun in a night game and lost 97-71.

The league eventually moved past these incidents after introducing charter flights, but the recent incident is a reminder that travel issues can still occur even after a million-dollar investment.

While the reschedule doesn’t mean much for fans, the consequences of this travel issue can be a bit tiring for both the NY Liberty and the Dallas Wings in the upcoming week.

The NY Liberty and the Dallas Wings face a major change in schedule after the postponement

After the game was rescheduled to Monday, the Liberty will travel to take on the Indiana Fever on July 18 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Now, the issue is that they will have to play the rescheduled road game on July 20, just after a one-day turnaround.

It doesn’t end there for Breanna Stewart and the team. The Liberty also has a scheduled home game on July 22 against the Chicago Sky, who will have a three-day gap after their July 19 game at Atlanta. 

This hectic schedule can be a major predicament for the Liberty going into the upcoming games. They are already in a shaky situation with three straight losses, and are up to face the Wings, who already hold a 2-0 record over them this season. Both wins have been by over 10 points, with the Wings winning at Barclays Center on May 24 and July 7. However, for the Dallas Wings as well, the schedule is no easier.

The Wings will take on the LA Sparks on July 19 in the morning, followed by the rescheduled Liberty game on July 20 at night. Then Paige Bueckers and her teammates will travel to Portland to take on the Fire on July 22.

However, the positive for the Wings is that they host the first two games, which means a bit less travel. Wings head coach Jose Fernandez has echoed that sentiment amid this situation, per the NY Times.

“We saw this type of stuff in college. I’m a firm believer that you control what you can control. Sometimes chaos is good (to test) how you respond to it. I thought these guys really responded.”

The back-to-back games will be a mountain to climb for both the NY Liberty and the Dallas Wings in the upcoming few days. The question now: can a Liberty team on a three-game losing streak navigate this compressed schedule?