AS Monaco’s preparation for their Champions League clash against Club Brugge, this evening, took a bizarre turn when the team was left stranded inside a stifling aircraft at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport.
The team had boarded an AlbaStar Boeing 737-800 (registered EC-NLK) on Wednesday morning, but a failure of the aircraft’s air conditioning system prevented departure. With the engines never starting, temperatures in the cabin soared to uncomfortable levels. According to leaked videos, several players — including stars such as Ansu Fati, Eric Dier, and Takumi Minamino — stripped down to their underwear in an attempt to cool off.
“This is too much, guys,” one player can be heard saying in the footage that quickly went viral on social media.
Despite attempts to resolve the technical issue, the problem could not be fixed on time. The Champions League pre-match press conference in Bruges was consequently cancelled.
Faced with the delay, AS Monaco scrambled to find alternative travel solutions. According to the Twitter account LIGUE 1 | ON AIR:
A Thalair Embraer ERJ-145MP (registered F-HFCN) departed Nice bound for Ostend this morning.
However, the 50-seat Embraer was too small to accommodate the full squad and staff.
A second aircraft was arranged: Amelia International flight NL497, an Airbus A319, scheduled to depart shortly after 11:00 local time to carry the remaining group.
With two separate aircraft now deployed, Monaco’s squad is expected to arrive in Belgium later today — far from the serene build-up enjoyed by their opponents Club Brugge.
This post was published on 18 September 2025 10:32
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