The geography is a major change from the compact 2022 World Cup in Qatar. With venues spread across three countries, Infantino’s diary demands constant movement between cities.
Those figures explain why television viewers have repeatedly seen Infantino in stadium seats thousands of miles apart. They also show how the expanded tournament footprint creates logistical pressure even for the event’s most visible official.
The aircraft is reportedly supplied through a value-in-kind arrangement with Qatar Airways. That may reduce the question of direct travel expenditure, but it does not remove scrutiny of the journey’s wider cost.
The report says the jet consumes more than 1,800 litres of fuel per hour. That makes the aircraft an obvious target for environmental criticism, particularly when the tournament’s scale requires repeated long-haul flights. A sponsorship can explain how the travel is arranged; it cannot make the emissions invisible.
Infantino is expected to try to attend almost all remaining knockout fixtures, but the schedule will become tighter. The reported proximity of the forthcoming England and Argentina quarter-final matches underlines the challenge: even a private jet cannot eliminate distance, preparation time and the risk of an exhausting itinerary.
The next storyline will be whether Infantino maintains his near-constant stadium presence as the World Cup reaches its decisive stage - and whether the travel conversation becomes as prominent as the football.