United Airlines is offering a free flight to help prevent the big college football game between Army and Navy from getting canceled as a result of the government shutdown, according to USA Today.
The game is scheduled for Saturday, but was previously in a state of uncertainty after many of the athletic events scheduled at the service academies have been suspended after Congress failed to act in time to prevent a shutdown.
The location the game is scheduled to take place at is the U.S. Naval Academy campus in Annapolis, Maryland. It is sold out, and will be played in front of a national television audience.
"We hate cancellations, so we're offering to fly @AF_Academy to this year's Air Force-Navy game," United wrote on its Twitter account. "Retweet if you agree."
The company confirmed the offer is serious.
"At United, we love football, we love our troops and, of course, we love flying," United said in a statement to Today In the Sky. "We want to make sure fans of the U.S. Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy get to see their teams out on the field Saturday."
The team would likely be flown from Colorado Springs to Baltimore/Washington International airport. The airports are about 25 miles away from each respective Naval academy.
"United is a strong supporter of our veterans and active-duty service men and women, with so many of our own co-workers having served," the statement from the company said. "And with our commitment to both Colorado and the D.C. area, we thought this was a great opportunity to keep the long-standing tradition alive."
United Airlines has a presence in both the areas where both naval academies are located. They have a hub at Denver International and at Washington Dulles.
A decision was announced by Navy athletic officials on Thursday to hold the game, though they haven't officially accepted the offer from United.
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