Vikings Charter Plane Delayed Ahead of Week 16 Clash with Giants

The Vikings' team charter experienced mechanical delays which set their arrival to face the Giants back by at least 5 1/2 hours.

The Minnesota Vikings team charter experienced mechanical issues. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Ah, the joys of travel.

Around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, the NFL Network, citing a statement released by the Minnesota Vikings, who play the New York Giants Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at MetLife Stadium, reported that the Vikings experienced a significant travel delay.

Kevin Seifert of ESPN reported that the Vikings’ initial team charter plane had to turn around after departing from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) is closed due to mechanical issues. 

The issue, according to Seifert, was that the landing gear hatch on the original chartered aircraft didn’t close after takeoff. 

Eyeoftheflyer.com reported that the Vikings' charter was a Delta Airlines 767-300 and that the aircraft made it as far as Madison, Wisconsin before turning around and returning to Minneapolis once the mechanical failure was discovered by the flight crew.  

The Vikings were scheduled to take a second plane for their nearly three-hour flight to Newark-Liberty International Airport (EWR), which, per a team-issued statement, indicated they were due to arrive in New Jersey “later (Saturday night).”

Seifert reported that the Vikings’ second plane departed MSP at 7:25 p.m. CST, which would be 8:25 p.m. ET–roughly 5½ hours after the original flight was scheduled to depart. 

Again, given the estimated travel time, assuming the Vikings don’t hit any further delays or issues flying into the New York metro area, which is one of the busiest in the northeast, that would mean they’ll arrive at Newark-Liberty Airport somewhere around 11:20 p.m.

Road teams usually schedule their travel so that they can be in the visiting city at least 24 hours prior to kickoff so they can settle into their team hotels and hold any last-minute meetings ahead of the next day's game.

The travel delay likely means that any last-minute meetings the Vikings had planned for if they had arrived at their hotel on schedule will be scrapped, so the players, coaches, and staff can get proper rest after what was surely a stressful, long day of travel.

Sunday’s game is the Vikings’ final road trip of 2025, and the Giants’ second-to-last home game. Both teams have been eliminated from postseason contention.

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel  for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? You can do so here.