The Patriots plane was spotted near Guantanamo Bay. Here's what we know
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One of the Patriots' planes at Logan Airport in 2020. Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Flight trackers spotted a New England Patriots plane traveling near Guantanamo Bay on Monday, sparking online speculation about the purpose of its offseason flight to the controversial facility.
State of play: The plane, operated by Omni Air International under a partnership with the team, flew from Fort Worth, Texas, to off the coast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before heading to Fort Bliss, Texas, per the flight tracking website ADS-B Exchange.
- A since-deleted post on Reddit's Patriots forum reporting the flight drew dozens of comments, with fans debating the purpose of the flight. A post on the Boston forum has drawn hundreds of responses.
Reality check: It's unclear why the plane flew there, but Omni Air has flown U.S. troops internationally on Patriots planes in the past as part of a multi-million-dollar military contract.
- The Patriots said in a statement to Axios that the organization "is not involved in, nor does it approve, sanction, or coordinate the uses of the aircraft when they are chartered for non-team purposes."
- Although a team plane has reportedly been used to transport migrants in the past, the Patriots said no deportation flights have happened under the current charter manager and that Monday's flight did not have migrants on board.
Between the lines: Omni Air, an Oklahoma-based company, has been operating the Patriots' two Boeing planes for team travel and other chartered flights since 2024, per an announcement.
- The partnership allows chartered flights for "humanitarian and goodwill flights on behalf of the Kraft family, and as available for Omni's other charter customers."
Omni Air has a $6.3-million contract with the Department of Defense through September 2026, per federal records.
- The contract involves both short- and long-range chartered flights worldwide.
- Omni Air did not respond to inquiries about the flight.
- The Patriots said the company's work for the military results in no financial gain to the Patriots organization.
Flashback: It's not the first time the Patriots' flights have come under scrutiny.
- The team's plane was used for deportation flights to Honduras in 2022 under a different charter manager, per the University of Washington's Center for Human Rights, which studied the rise of sports planes being used for deportations.