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In August 2024, private plane charter company Omni Air International announced a partnership<\/a> with the NFL\u2019s New England Patriots via a press release, a long-term agreement by which Omni would operate the team\u2019s two custom-decorated Boeing 767-300s for \u201cteam travel and other charter flights including humanitarian and goodwill flights on behalf of the Kraft family, and as available for Omni\u2019s other charter customers.\u201d One of the planes, with tail number N36NE<\/a>, was singled out in the announcement as particularly \u201cattractive\u201d to customers due to its custom seating arrangement, which includes 80 business-class seats.<\/p>\n Maybe that\u2019s what set it apart for whoever was on board on Monday, when flight records show<\/a> that the plane made a trip from Fort Worth, Texas, to Guant\u00e1namo Bay, and a return flight the same day from Gitmo to Texas\u2019s Fort Bliss.<\/p>\n The Pats use the planes for team travel during the NFL\u2019s season, and have been public about past non-athletic uses of the plane, like the 2020 trip to pick up 1.5 million N95 masks from China<\/a> amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and the 2021 use of one of the aircraft to ferry vaccinated healthcare workers<\/a> to watch the team play in the Super Bowl, a trip gifted both from gratitude and to raise awareness of the importance of Covid vaccines.<\/p>\n There are only so many reasons to go to Guant\u00e1namo Bay, and lately, pretty much all of them have to do with ICE and Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s gung-ho deportation push<\/a>. At a congressional hearing earlier this month, it was revealed that about 400 migrants have been held (non-simultaneously) at the U.S. Navy base over the past two months, an endeavor that has cost more than $40 million in taxpayer funds.<\/p>\n Patriots spokesperson Anisha Chakrabarti<\/strong>, contacted by Vanity Fair<\/em>, denied that the team\u2019s plane had been used for rendition flights transporting migrants.<\/p>\n \u201cThe New England Patriots plane was not used for any kind of deportation flight and there were no detainees on the plane,\u201d Chakrabarti said via email. \u201cUnder our current charter manager, neither of the Patriots planes have ever been used for that purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n When the team isn\u2019t using the planes, the charter company, Omni, manages them.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pats\u2019 planes were previously managed by charter airline Eastern Airlines, a deal that resulted in a lawsuit<\/a> alleging breach of contract<\/a> by Eastern. It was under this contract that a 2022 University of Washington Center for Human Rights report revealed<\/a> that Patriots-owned aircrafts had been used for at least three ICE rendition flights<\/a> to Honduras.<\/p>\n Kathleen Bergin<\/strong>, an adjunct professor of law at Cornell University, wrote in Fortune<\/em> in 2021<\/a> that migrants on ICE flights have reported being beaten and mistreated, a much different air travel experience from the well-paid athletes who also use the planes.<\/p>\n \u201cAthletes 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,\u201d Bergin wrote. \u201cCelebrities and corporate VIPs who\u2019ve used their public image to promote human rights sacrifice their credibility the moment they board the plane.\u201d<\/p>\n Deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly<\/strong> told VF<\/em> via email, \u201cWhile those assisting with President Trump\u2019s mass deportation of migrant criminals are great patriots, there is no contract with the New England Patriots to facilitate deportations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Kym Dixon<\/strong>, a spokesperson for Omni parent company Air Transport Services Group, declined to elaborate on the nature of the flight when contacted by VF<\/em>. \u201cDue to the potential nature of the missions, we do not confirm flight or contract information,\u201d she said via email.<\/p>\n Omni counts the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security among two of its prominent government clients as part of the so-called \u201cICE Air\u201d program<\/a>, and has been named in complaints of abuse of migrant passengers. Omni’s parent company was recently acquired and taken private by Stonepeak in a $3.1 billion deal<\/a>, but until April 11, 2025, none other than Amazon owned nearly 20% of the parent company<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Department of Homeland Security, ICE\u2019s agency, did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n