The Kansas City Chiefs’ airplane was set to arrive in Denver at 3 p.m. Mountain Time. It didn’t take off until almost 4:30 p.m. Mountain Time.
The reigning Super Bowl champions were preparing to leave for their Week 18 clash with the Denver Broncos when the Kansas City airport, MCI, closed down due to icy conditions. As a result, the Chiefs’ plane remained “stranded” on the tarmac in Kansas City for over four hours, according to CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson.
According to reports, the airport’s de-icing machine was broken, adding to the delay.
Other reporters indicated that the team wanted to push the flight’s schedule up when the weather in Kansas City started to worsen, but the charter plane was already delayed in its arrival. Consequently, the Chiefs had to stick to the originally scheduled departure time and ended up stuck in Kansas City until the runway could be de-iced.
At 5:21 p.m. Central Time, more than four hours after the Chiefs reportedly arrived on the tarmac, Fox 4 News anchor Harold R. Kuntz reported that the flight had finally been cleared for take-off.
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The Chiefs will face the Broncos in Denver at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday. Kansas City has already clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed and announced it will be resting several of its starters, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Broncos need to come away with the win in Week 18 to clinch the AFC’s final open playoff spot.