Steelers Flight Takes Off for Buffalo

Per flight-tracking software, the Steelers plane has departed Pittsburgh International Airport and is en route to Buffalo Niagara International Airport. They were scheduled to board the plane at 3 p.m. ET. The flight should take about an hour, and even through the lake effect snow conditions, planes have been landing at the airport throughout the day. By the airport, snow smattering has been less than that near the stadium in Orchard Park, which has a travel ban. It is receiving six inches of snow per hour with gusts of up to 50 miles per hour.

The plane took off at 3:39 p.m. local time in Pittsburgh. Despite the weather concerns, it appears they will make it to Buffalo. They are expected to arrive in Buffalo at 4:10 p.m.

The NFL remains confident that the game will be played at its rescheduled time of 4:30 p.m. on Monday. According to Tracy Wolfson of CBS Sports, Pittsburgh went through another walk-through on Sunday before they took off for Buffalo into the snowy conditions.

“The safety of the fans that attend the game and the staff involved is tantamount,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz, who joined Hochul in announcing the delay. “I’m very glad that the NFL agreed, as well.”

The Steelers have had a playoff game moved recently due to weather. Their road playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016 was moved to a later time on the same day.

The last time the Steelers had a game move day was when their game against the Baltimore Ravens in 2020 was postponed multiple times due to COVID-19 issues on the Ravens. That game ended up being played on Wednesday afternoon.