AEW President Tony Khan has revealed that several wrestlers would likely have missed Saturday’s Full Gear 2026 pay-per-view if the company had not arranged private flights following the nationwide air travel shutdown.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a rare nationwide ground stop on Friday, November 13, due to a communications issue affecting air traffic control. Although the restriction was lifted several hours later, widespread cancellations and delays continued to disrupt travel throughout the weekend.
With AEW Full Gear scheduled for November 14 in Phoenix, Arizona, the situation created significant concerns about whether all advertised performers would arrive in time for the event.
During the Full Gear post-show press conference, Khan explained how AEW responded to the disruption and why the company ultimately decided to arrange three private planes.
“The whole PPV came off great, and I really appreciate everybody who pulled a lot of strings to make it happen.
For anybody who didn’t hear, I announced earlier today that we utilize private aviation. Yesterday [Friday], all flights were shut down, private and public, and that meant that we were playing by the same rules as everyone, and nobody from AEW was flying yesterday.”
Khan explained that although AEW could not bypass the nationwide grounding, he began making contingency arrangements in anticipation of the restrictions being lifted.
Once flights were permitted to resume, those preparations proved crucial as numerous commercial flights carrying wrestlers were subsequently canceled.
“But I did start lining things up if and when the travel block did get changed, which happened last night. At that point, we thought about it, and I’m really glad we did. It turned out that a lot of the commercial flights for wrestlers on the pay-per-view did end up getting canceled. Had I not sent the private planes, a lot of people on this pay-per-view would not have made it here tonight.
Some people would have been able to make it on their commercial flights, but sending the three private planes worked really, really well behind this curtain.”
The decision allowed AEW to transport performers who otherwise might have been unable to reach Phoenix in time for their scheduled matches.
Despite the widespread travel problems, AEW managed to present its entire advertised main pay-per-view card without changes.
However, the disruptions did affect the Tailgate Brawl pre-show, with Maya World unable to make the trip and adjustments required to the lineup.
Khan’s comments highlight the logistical challenges AEW faced in the hours leading up to Full Gear, particularly as other wrestling promotions were also dealing with the effects of the nationwide shutdown.
WWE reportedly had several SmackDown performers stranded in Florida following Friday’s broadcast, while TNA Wrestling confirmed that travel complications would force changes to its Destination X pay-per-view lineup.
For AEW, Khan credited the company’s advance preparations and the efforts of those involved in arranging transportation with ensuring that Full Gear proceeded as advertised.
Without the three private planes, Khan believes a significant number of wrestlers would have missed the event entirely.
