Direct flights from Birmingham to Oklahoma City added ahead of Alabama CFP game

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — There is just one week until the Alabama Crimson Tide faces the Oklahoma Sooners for the second time this season, this time in the first round of the college football playoffs. For fans planning to travel to the game, new flight options will be available at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport.

“It’s always exciting when the airlines identify how important football is in this community and how important it is to our travelers,” said Kim Hunt, VP of communications for the Birmingham Airport Authority.

Southwest Airlines has added direct flights from Birmingham to Oklahoma City to make travel to the playoff game easier. Fans can depart on Dec. 18 or Dec. 19, with two return flight options available on Dec. 20.

“We suspect that on the 18th and 19th, when people are beginning to check in for the flight, we will definitely see the big A’s on the hats and jackets and shirts,” Hunt said. “It’s just a really exciting time. I mean, what’s more fun than flying off for a weekend to watch a really exciting football game? You can feel the excitement in the air.”

Clay Ingram with AAA Alabama says Tide fans know how to travel.

“It doesn’t really matter if they’re playing in Arkansas or California or Virginia, the fans like to travel, they like to go with the team, they’ve got a long history of that and they’ve got a really strong following” Ingram said. “So you’re going to see a lot of Alabama fans at this upcoming game.”

Brady Fox, a sophomore at the University of Alabama, said he loves the idea of having a direct flight from Birmingham to Oklahoma City. While he won’t be able to attend next week, he hopes the Tide makes a deep run and that more direct flights are added so he can try to make a later game.

“I haven’t gone to any of the playoff games and that’s definitely a bucket list item for me,” said Fox. “A lot of the students do want to come to the game and a lot of them have tickets but sometimes they just don’t have the opportunities to get there so I think a lot of them will come to the [Oklahoma] game.”

If Alabama wins against Oklahoma, Hunt said there’s a chance additional direct flights could be added for the Rose Bowl and National Championship.

“We can’t predict it, but certainly we’ll be keeping an eye on it and we’ll let our passengers in this area know if it happens,” she said.

The Tide is scheduled to kick off against the Sooners on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.

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