At 17:45 p.m. it was “all doors in flight” for the Boeing 747-8 with the registration D-ABYA and the christened name “Brandenburg” at Frankfurt Airport.

Flight captain Christian Leyhe and his crew welcomed on board the teams tobogganing doubles with Tobias Arlt, Sascha Benecken, Toni Eggert and Tobias Wendl, figure skating, freeskiing, women's alpine skiing, biathlon, snowboard halfpipe and ski jumping around Karl Geiger and Katharina Althaus. Before that, the team was said goodbye in Lufthansa's Business Class Lounge. DOSB Vice President Miriam Welte and Lufthansa Airlines CEO Klaus Froese gave the athletes their good wishes for the sporting competitions on the trip.

"We are pleased that the day of departure for Team D has finally come," said DOSB President Thomas Weikert, head of the delegation in Beijing. “The opening ceremony will take place in just four days and the anticipation is growing. We are flying to Beijing with a strong team and I am sure that our athletes will show excellent performance both as role models for society and as ambassadors for our country." Lufthansa Airlines CEO Klaus Froese said: "It is traditional that Team Germany flies to the Olympic Games with Lufthansa. For us, this is a very special task that we take on with joy and pride every time.”

Lufthansa Cargo has already flown 100 tons of sports equipment and sports luggage to Beijing in the last few weeks. For many years, the "Freight Crane" has been a reliable partner for transporting sports equipment for the Olympic team. The transport of the sports equipment is particularly time-critical and would require great care and experience.