After Rangers secured a place in the Europa League final in Seville on 18 May, air fares to southern Spain in time for the Glasgow team’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt have soared.
The only remaining flights from the UK to Seville arriving on the day of the final in good time for kick-off are on easyJet from London Gatwick. It appears that Rangers supporters who live in London are bidding up the fare – which has risen significantly during the day.
The cheapest outbound flight on 18 May is selling at £405 one way. Return flights on easyJet are sold out until Saturday at the earliest. The British Airways departure from Seville to Gatwick on 19 May is selling at £535 one way. It is operated by Iberia Express.
A special round trip that easyJet put on between Glasgow and Seville sold out very quickly. It is possible that more flights will be laid on.
The obvious alternative routes are to Madrid or Malaga, which have excellent rail connections with Seville in two or three hours.
But partly as a consequence of reduced connectivity due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are no direct flights from any of the Scottish airports on the day before or after the final to either city.
Research by The Independent indicates that the longer fans are able to spend in Spain, the less the journey will cost.
Supporters of the Gers who can spare the time for a week’s holiday on the Costa del Sol could travel up from Malaga to Seville by train for the match.
Fast trains take under two hours and cost £65 return, with slower services at £35 return.
They are able to book a package with Tui from Manchester for around £380 including accommodation; the lowest prices from Scottish airports are almost twice as high.
Unfortunately the last train back from Seville to Malaga on 18 May departs just before the 9pm kick-off, with nothing more until 6.50am the next day.
Accommodation in the host city is extremely expensive, with Booking.com offer just one room for under £600 on the night of the final.
The cheapest solution for a group of fans who are happy to make a long drive is to fly on the morning of the match from Edinburgh to Barcelona, arriving at 10.20am – giving 10 hours to make the 1,000km (625 miles) drive to Seville.
After the game, they will need to drive straight back in time for the 10.25am return flight.
The return trip is currently selling through Ryanair for £144, an increase of 12 per cent in a couple of hours.
