KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Baseball teams in the major leagues fly charter aircraft with lots of leg room, and depart from terminals most commercial passengers never set foot in. It’s a painless way to fly, except on the rare occasion something happens out of the team’s control. Like bad weather. Or malfunctioning equipment.
On Wednesday night, the Yankees encountered a bit of everything while trying to depart suburban Washington for Kansas City, resulting in something more common to everyday fliers than to professional athletes: sleeping at the airport. Mechanical and labor issues grounded the Yankees’ charter at Dulles International Airport overnight.