Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan talks to his players as they take on the Connecticut Huskies in the second half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. UConn defeated Florida Gators 65-64.
( David Butler II-USA TODAY / December 2, 2013)
UConn Huskies knock off Florida Gators
Delta Airlines left a group of irritated travelers in the wake of the Gators basektball team on Sunday after mechanical problems grounded the team charter to Connecticut.
The Gainesville Sun reported that dozens of people missed their connections after Delta Airlines canceled a flight from Gainesville to Atlanta and re-designated the 50-seat airplane as a charter for the Gators.
Delta Connection Flight 5059 was scheduled to leave at 3:26 p.m., but some of the passengers were dealyed until as late as Monday. One passenger told the Sun that others had to be driven to airports in Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa to catch alternate flights.
One passenger missed a funeral, while another had to be driven by her father to Atlanta, the Sun reported.
The Gators were scheduled to meet Connecticut at 7 p.m. Monday night.
“It just felt like the wrong decision made by somebody who didn’t think it through,” the passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Sun.
She said passengers were told their plane had a mechanical failure, but then some noticed through a window the Gators were boarding their airplane.
Delta spokesman Michael Thomas told the Sun passengers were booked on other flights and given vouchers for future travel.
Delta also made a statement through UF, stating, “the University of Florida in no way participated in the decision-making process.”
The Gators would go on to lose the game game 65-64 when Uconn guard Shabazz Napier hit a buzzer-beating jump shot.
The Gators found another way to frustrate some their fan base a day after the school wrapped up its first losing football season since 1979.
Read the full story here.
Email Edgar Thompson at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com. Read the Swamp Things blog at www.orlandosentinel.com/swampthings. Follow our UF coverage on Twitter @osgators.