What Was the New England Patriots’ Team Jet Doing at Guantánamo Bay?

In August 2024, personal aircraft constitution corporate Omni Air International introduced a partnership with the NFL’s New England Patriots by way of a press liberate, a long-term settlement through which Omni would function the crew’s two custom-decorated Boeing 767-300s for “team travel and other charter flights including humanitarian and goodwill flights on behalf of the Kraft family, and as available for Omni’s other charter customers.” One of the planes, with tail quantity N36NE, used to be singled out within the announcement as in particular “attractive” to shoppers because of its tradition seating association, which incorporates 80 business-class seats.

Maybe that’s what set it aside for whoever used to be on board on Monday, when flight information display that the aircraft made a commute from Fort Worth, Texas, to Guantánamo Bay, and a go back flight the similar day from Gitmo to Texas’s Fort Bliss.

The Pats use the planes for crew commute right through the NFL’s season, and feature been public about previous non-athletic makes use of of the aircraft, just like the 2020 commute to select up 1.5 million N95 mask from China amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and the 2021 use of probably the most airplane to ferry vaccinated healthcare employees to look at the crew play within the Super Bowl, a commute talented each from gratitude and to lift consciousness of the significance of Covid vaccines.

There are simplest such a lot of causes to visit Guantánamo Bay, and in recent years, just about they all need to do with ICE and Donald Trump’s gung-ho deportation push. At a congressional listening to previous this month, it used to be printed that about 400 migrants were held (non-simultaneously) on the U.S. Navy base during the last two months, an enterprise that has value greater than $40 million in taxpayer budget.

Patriots spokesperson Anisha Chakrabarti, contacted by way of Vanity Fair, denied that the crew’s aircraft have been used for rendition flights transporting migrants.

“The New England Patriots plane was not used for any kind of deportation flight and there were no detainees on the plane,” Chakrabarti mentioned by way of e-mail. “Under our current charter manager, neither of the Patriots planes have ever been used for that purpose.”

When the crew isn’t the use of the planes, the constitution corporate, Omni, manages them.

“The New England Patriots organization is not involved in, nor does it approve, sanction, or coordinate the uses of the aircrafts when they are chartered for non-team purposes,” Chakrabarti’s statement continued. “The charter company uses the Patriots planes as part of their inventory when chartering to the Department of Defense to move military personnel as well as other government agencies with no financial gain to the organization.”

The Pats’ planes had been up to now controlled by way of constitution airline Eastern Airlines, a deal that led to a lawsuit alleging breach of contract by way of Eastern. It used to be beneath this contract {that a} 2022 University of Washington Center for Human Rights document printed that Patriots-owned aircrafts have been used for no less than 3 ICE rendition flights to Honduras.

Kathleen Bergin, an accessory professor of legislation at Cornell University, wrote in Fortune in 2021 that migrants on ICE flights have reported being crushed and mistreated, a far other air commute revel in from the well-paid athletes who additionally use the planes.

“Athletes must accept that they are sitting in a seat perhaps last occupied by a migrant bloodied from abuse, or a parent taken from her child,” Bergin wrote. “Celebrities and corporate VIPs who’ve used their public image to promote human rights sacrifice their credibility the moment they board the plane.”

Deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly informed VF by way of e-mail, “While those assisting with President Trump’s mass deportation of migrant criminals are great patriots, there is no contract with the New England Patriots to facilitate deportations,” she mentioned.

Kym Dixon, a spokesperson for Omni guardian corporate Air Transport Services Group, declined to elaborate at the nature of the flight when contacted by way of VF. “Due to the potential nature of the missions, we do not confirm flight or contract information,” she mentioned by way of e-mail.

Omni counts the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security amongst two of its outstanding govt purchasers as a part of the so-called “ICE Air” program, and has been named in court cases of abuse of migrant passengers. Omni’s guardian corporate used to be not too long ago received and brought personal by way of Stonepeak in a $3.1 billion deal, however till April 11, 2025, none rather then Amazon owned just about 20% of the guardian corporate.

The Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s company, didn’t reply to a request for remark.