Liverpool FC fans heading to Paris for the Champions League final are facing soaring travel and accommodation costs.
Reds supporters looking to book trains, planes and cross-Channel ferries, as well as hotel rooms, for the May 28 clash with Real Madrid at the Stade de France are seeing hugely inflated prices, reports the Sunday Mirror. Prices for flights to Paris are nearly £400.
EasyJet’s cheapest flight from Manchester to Charles de Gaulle airport the day before the match was priced at £359 this week. Travellers could book the same flight on Friday, May 13 for £64 – 456% cheaper. On Eurostar, a London St Pancras-to-Paris ticket next Friday costs £109.60. The cheapest available fare on May 27 is £189.50.
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Hotels in the French capital are also increasing rates. The Mercure Saint-Ouen hotel has been charging £265.53 for a two-night stay next weekend. But the price skyrocketed to £4,231 for the weekend of the final. An EasyJet spokesman said: “Like all airlines, our pricing is demand-led – our fares start low and increase the closer it is to the date of departure and as more seats are booked.”
And Eurostar said: “Our pricing is dynamic and therefore will fluctuate on services where there is high demand." This year's final will take place on May 28 in Paris at the Stade de France (8pm kick-off).
Plans were in place for the 2022 final to be staged in St. Petersburg, but the Russian city was stripped of the final following Vladimir Putin's decision to launch an invasion of Ukraine.