The stairs were in place, the red carpet was rolled out, a brass band was ready and 20 hand-picked fans stood behind the barriers. Then the Lufthansa Airbus A350 carrying the New England Patriots rolled straight past the spot where it was supposed to stop.

The NFL team landed at Munich Airport on Thursday 12 November 2026 on Lufthansa special flight LH2573 from Boston, ahead of Sunday’s NFL Munich Game against the Detroit Lions at the Allianz Arena. According to Lufthansa, the jet touched down at 9:38 local time.

German sports broadcaster ran, which covered the arrival on the apron, reported that the aircraft missed the stairs and the specially laid red carpet by a few metres. The doors only opened after some manoeuvring and a delay of several minutes.

A few metres too far

Aviation news site aeroTELEGRAPH, citing the ran footage, identified the aircraft as Lufthansa A350-900 D-AIXT. Because the A350 had stopped beyond its planned position, its front left door was no longer where the stairs had been placed.

An airliner does not reverse away from a stand under its own power, so the fix had to come from the ground. According to aeroTELEGRAPH, the handlers, some visibly annoyed, drove the stairs to the aircraft again, which left them at a rather awkward angle to the red carpet.

None of the reports mention any damage or injuries. It was the kind of small apron mishap that would go unnoticed on a normal flight, except that this one had cameras, fans and an NFL roster waiting for the door to open.

German sports broadcaster ran’s report on the Patriots’ arrival at Munich Airport on 12 November 2026.

Six trophies in the hold

For Lufthansa, the flight was meant to be a showcase. It marked the start of a new partnership in which the airline becomes the Patriots’ official partner in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and the team flew in an A350-900 fitted with Lufthansa’s new Allegris premium cabins.

The airline says it also carried more than seven tonnes of cargo, including about 80 football helmets and other equipment, plus all six of the Patriots’ Super Bowl trophies. As part of the partnership, the two are also supporting the use of more than 20 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel in Lufthansa Group operations.

The fans got their moment once the stairs were in place. Ran reported that, at the sixth NFL game to be held in Germany, it was the first time German fans had been able to greet a team on the apron, an arrangement between Lufthansa and the fan club umbrella group Patriots Fans Germany. Head coach Mike Vrabel walked away with a bag of sweets from the welcome party.

Austrian football site footballR notes that this is the Patriots’ second appearance in Germany, after their game in Frankfurt in 2023. Among the travelling squad was offensive tackle Lorenz Metz, who grew up in Upper Bavaria, around 90 kilometres from Munich, and played in the German Football League before reaching the NFL.

D-AIXT, a regular on the long-haul network

D-AIXT is one of the Airbus A350-900s in Lufthansa’s fleet and normally works the airline’s long-haul routes, which have included Cape Town and Tokyo Haneda. On Thursday it brought an NFL team to Bavaria instead.

The Patriots are known for precision on the field. Their arrival in Munich proved that even a perfectly flown transatlantic charter can still come down to the last few metres of taxiway paint.

Sources: Lufthansa Group newsroom, ran (ProSiebenSat.1 sports), aeroTELEGRAPH, footballR

Header photo: Lufthansa Group (press image)