She is the world’s biggest pop star and not someone who is accustomed to being kept waiting.

But Taylor Swift had to linger by the runway for nearly an hour Tuesday night after tardy Travis Kelce turned up late for their private flight.

DailyMail.com caught a glimpse of the world’s hottest couple hopping on a swish Gulfstream jet bound for the East Coast. But the getaway didn’t run to plan as Taylor and her dad Scott boarded at 6:05pm while the Chiefs tight end didn’t rock up in his Hummer until 7pm.

The flustered NFL star then tried to drive the huge EV onto the apron only to find the gate locked. Eventually a member of Swift’s armed security entourage was able to ferry him to the $61 million plane and red-faced Kelce dashed up the stairs.

They took off just as his brother Jason was pulling up to the same Kansas City-area airport to fly home to Philadelphia.

The Chiefs have a bye week so Kelce is not due back in training until the team starts prepping for its October 20 clash with the 49ers. He had spent the day entertaining Swift at his sprawling Kansas City mansion after she and Scott flew in 24 hours earlier to watch the Saints game.

They toasted the Week 5 win with a typically PDA-packed display, with footage posted to X of the pair enjoying a post-game kiss and cuddle in Swift’s VIP box.

The Bad Blood singer had raised eyebrows when she was a no-show as Travis celebrated turning 35 on Saturday by throwing a car festival followed by a private dinner party.

But her arrival at the game was widely anticipated after he let slip that she was coming to town while chatting to VIP guests at his Kelce Car Jam event.

Travis at least got to celebrate with his nearest and dearest, with the entire Kelce clan in attendance, including Donna, dad Ed, Jason and his wife Kylie. Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany also roared up in a $500,000 Ferrari 812 supercar – one of multiple pricey motors on parade at Saturday night’s block party.

Proceeds went to Kelce’s 87 & Running Foundation which raises funds for needy kids in Kansas City and Cleveland. The family all headed to downtown Kansas City afterwards for a private afterparty at the swish Aristocrat Lounge above the Midland Theatre.

Donna shared a fun exchange with DailyMail.com when we asked her what she had bought Travis for his birthday. ‘I can’t tell you because I’m giving it to him after Monday’s game,’ she chuckled, before hopping into a limo to head back to her hotel.

Speculation about Taylor heading to Kansas City had swirled all week with a rumor circling about her hiring out a popular barbecue joint Wednesday night for a pre-birthday celebration. There were no confirmed sightings of the songstress, however, who has gone to considerable lengths to mask her flight details and whereabouts since the foiled terror attack at her Vienna concert in August.

Swift also wasn’t there to watch the Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers 17-10 last Sunday. But, according to one well-placed source, her absence was no indication that her romance with Kelce was cooling off: Swift simply doesn’t see much of her boyfriend when he’s playing away games.

Coming solely to home games means they can instead enjoy quality quiet time at Kelce’s ultra-private home which is surrounded by tall trees and shrubbery and can only be accessed by passing a 24-hour security gate.

Set in the manicured grounds of a gated community and far from the public gaze it is the perfect bolt-hole for low-key dates, dinners and movie nights. Kelce and Swift did venture out undetected late last month when swish Kansas City eatery Noka was reportedly closed to the public so they could enjoy an intimate catch-up.

According to Deux Moi, ‘The restaurant was claiming it was closed for maintenance but it’s the same restaurant where Britanny Mahomes had her birthday dinner not very long ago.’

That came on the heels of a bumpy period for Kelce and Swift who recently celebrated one year of having made their romance official with the anniversary of the singer’s first public attendance at Arrowhead Stadium on September 24.

Only a couple of weeks earlier they were forced to defend themselves against allegations that the whole relationship was a PR sham following an alleged leak of documents purporting to be from Kelce’s public relations.

Full Scope PR engaged lawyers to ‘initiate proceedings against the individuals or entities responsible for the unlawful and injurious forgery of documents,’ that appeared to offer a comprehensive strategy for Swift and Kelce’s impending breakup, even giving the date of the supposed event as September 18.

Three days after the leak, they attended the US Open where they drew attention for their very public displays of affection as they rocked out to The Darkness’s, ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’.

On the field meanwhile, Kelce has thus far had a poor season, leading fans and pundits to question whether his numerous off-field activities are a distraction.

Former ESPN analyst Todd McShay is one who voiced his belief that the star is out of shape, having spent his offseason focused not on training, but on Swift.

McShay didn’t mince his words recently on The Ryen Russillo Podcast. ‘Every show I watch, every pregame show, halftime show, postgame show, weekday show, every broadcast I watch for the last few weeks, it’s like are we not allowed to say that he’s out of shape, that he’s been partying all offseason?’ he said.

‘He’s been jet-setting around with the most famous person probably in the entire world, that he’s drinking, going to the US Open… take a picture from preseason 2022 and then take a picture preseason 2024, they’re barely the same human being.’