Las Palmas Players Miss Flight to Sevilla After Airport Coffee Mishap

An Unusual Disruption Before a Big La Liga Game

You'd expect professional football teams to have travel plans down to a fine art. Yet even top clubs can be derailed by something as ordinary as a coffee break. That’s exactly what happened to Las Palmas in September 2023, when almost their entire starting lineup, along with two physiotherapists, missed their flight for a crucial La Liga fixture against Sevilla FC.

Here’s how it went down: the Las Palmas party gathered at the airport, gearing up for their away match. While waiting, 15 first-team players and two essential staff decided to grab a quick coffee. Nothing out of the ordinary—except their quick break ran overtime. In the world of tight airline schedules, that's all it takes. By the time the group was ready to board, the gate had closed, and their flight to Sevilla had taken off without them.

Imagine the scramble. A chunk of the team stranded airside, minutes ticking away before a top-tier league match. For coaching staff and logistics managers, the scenario is a nightmare. Yet, panic didn’t set in. Instead, team management hustled to rebook every single person onto alternative flights. The pressure wasn’t just to make it in time; players needed to land relaxed enough to perform on the pitch, not frazzled by last-minute travel chaos.

Travel Chaos but No Game Disruption

A handful of critics questioned how a basic airport coffee run could trigger such a blunder. But flights wait for no one, even if you’re a professional athlete. On a tight matchday schedule, the margin for error is razor-thin. Miss a boarding call, and suddenly the entire pre-game routine is tossed up in the air. For Las Palmas, the incident was more embarrassing than disastrous. By the time the whistle blew in Sevilla, everyone expected to be on the pitch was there, boots laced.

Behind the scenes, the club dealt swiftly with the fallout. No need for rescheduling or lineup changes, and the match started exactly as planned. But the story didn’t disappear quietly. Supporters and Spanish sports media latched on—the image of footballers sprinting through the terminal, or perhaps sipping coffee while their flight disappeared without them, triggered a wave of memes and good-natured ribbing online.

For Las Palmas, it’s a reminder that even the best-prepared teams can stumble over everyday moments. Their journey to Sevilla may have started with a delay, but they managed to keep the drama off the pitch—and for fans, it’s just another chapter in the unpredictable world of football logistics.