Charter Saab 2000 flew Schalke 04 home after late-night cup match

Schalke 04 got home from a German Cup match against fourth-tier side Hallescher FC with help from a charter flight run by the Danish-Swedish carrier Frost Air, after the game went to extra time.

Played on a Monday evening, the match finished late, and players had to rush from the stadium to reach the aircraft waiting at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Flight tracking of departures from the airport that night showed only one passenger aircraft heading toward western Germany between 11pm and 2am, along with several cargo flights and a Freebird Airlines service to Turkey.

That aircraft, registered OY-FSB, is one of five Saab 2000 turboprops in Frost Air's fleet. The 50-seat plane left Leipzig/Halle at 1:50am under flight number FRO1904 and landed in Münster/Osnabrück roughly 45 minutes later. Düsseldorf Airport would have been a closer option, but its night flight curfew had already kicked in by the time the team could leave.

Once the Schalke squad was dropped off, the 31-year-old aircraft carried on to Frost Air's home base in Malmö-Sturup, flying that leg under the number FR904.

The episode shows how sports clubs sometimes turn to charter aircraft to get around curfews at major airports when fixtures run late.