As the WNBA faces increased pressure to move away from commercial airline travel, the league has allowed teams this season to fly on a public chartering service called JSX with certain protocols in place, league sources told ESPN this week.
The league’s travel situation has come under increased scrutiny after the Phoenix Mercury‘s Brittney Griner — who was detained in Russia most of last year and subsequently released in a high-profile prisoner exchange — was harassed in a Dallas airport this past weekend while flying commercially with the team.
WNBA teams primarily fly commercial, citing cost. Some franchises and players have increasingly pushed for the use of charters, and the New York Liberty incurred a $500,000 fine for illicitly flying charters to some away games in 2021.
This year, the league expanded charter use to postseason play and regular-season games played on back-to-back days that require air travel.
According to its website, JSX is a “hop-on…
