WNBA players are hyped the league is finally chartering flights for every team
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert made a monumental announcement on Tuesday, telling a group of sports editors the league will finally charter planes for all teams to all games this season.
Private flights have been a longstanding issue for players across the league as images of pro athletes sleeping in airport terminals became commonplace and security concerns over the likes of Brittney Griner, Caitlin Clark and more became impossible to ignore.
Griner was harassed at a Dallas airport last year while Clark’s recent airport run-in — also in Dallas — renewed calls for the WNBA to charter flights for players. The league had already announced it would charter planes for back-to-back games only in 2024. That plan is now shifting, though no concrete details have been announced and there is no timeline for when the private flights would begin.
“We intend to fund a full-time charter for this season,” Engelbert said. “We’re going to as soon as we can get it up and running. Maybe it’s a couple weeks, maybe it’s a month … We are really excited for the prospects here.”
Making matters more complicated is the fact the league regular season begins in seven days. Still, it’s a long time coming for WNBA players who have been fighting for the benefit, and the announcement had them hyped.