WNBA set to have full-time charter flights for teams beginning this season

For the first time in league history, the WNBA will have full-time chartered flights for its teams throughout the season. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a meeting with sports editors that the league will launch a charter program 'as soon as we can get planes in places.' She said it is projected to cost around $25 million per year for the next two seasons.

Teams have traveled commercially since its inception in 1997, resulting in player safety concerns. However, it reached a boiling point last year when Brittney Griner, roughly six months after she was released from Russian prison in a controversial exchange with United States officials, was targeted by 'inappropriate and unfortunate' actions of a 'social media figure and provocateur' at a Dallas airport.

New York Liberty owner Joe Tsai, who also owns the NBA's Brooklyn Nets, was fined by the WNBA $500,000 for providing his team with charter flights in 2022. It went against the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players' union, as it said there may be a potential unfair competitive advantage over franchises that could not afford charters. As such, WNBA teams have primarily flown commercially, and sometimes that means entire days traveling across the country.

teams also have the ability to book flights on JSX, which is in a sense a chartered flight, as teams can purchase the entire flight for themselves on an already-scheduled route. The WNBA season begins on May 14. Fox News' Scott Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

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