The icy portion of Winter Storm Blair caused headaches Saturday for travelers around Kansas City.

That included the Chiefs, whose flight to Denver for Sunday’s game against the Broncos was delayed.

Kansas City International Airport shared this message on social media at 2:50 p.m.: “Due to rapid ice accumulation, the airfield at Kansas City International Airport (MCI) is currently closed to flight operations.“

The plane carrying the Chiefs, who fly on United Airlines, was among those that couldn’t leave on time Saturday. The team was scheduled to depart at 2 p.m. Central Time and arrive in Denver at 2:45 Mountain Time.

But as of 4:20 p.m. CT on Saturday, the plane had yet to depart KCI.

The Chiefs attempted to leave earlier Saturday, ahead of the storm, but because of mechanical issues their charter plane did not allow for an earlier departure, The Star was told. That kept in place the team’s typical afternoon departure the day before a game — until the icy conditions intervened.

The Chiefs-Broncos game is scheduled for Sunday at 3:25 p.m. Central at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. The Broncos need to beat the Chiefs to ensure they will make the playoffs.

There has never been a forfeit in NFL history, although many games have been altered for several reasons, including weather.

The league’s last outright cancellation of a game occurred in Week 17 of the 2022 season. The Bills-Bengals game was called off following a severe injury to Buffalo’s Damar Hamlin.

Like the game scheduled for Sunday in Denver, that Bills-Bengals contest had playoff implications. The Chiefs and Bills would have met in Atlanta, if each had advanced to the AFC championship game.