After Rangers secured a place in the Europa League final in Seville on May 18, airfares to southern Spain in time for the Glasgow side’s game against Eintracht Frankfurt soared in arrow.
The only remaining flights between the UK and Sevilla arriving on the day of the final in time for kick-off are on easyJet from London Gatwick. It appears Rangers fans who live in London are upping the fare – which has risen significantly over the course of the day.
The cheapest one-way flight on May 18 sells for £405 one-way. Return flights on easyJet are sold out until Saturday at the earliest. The British Airways departure from Seville to Gatwick on May 19 sells for £535 one-way. It is operated by Iberia Express.
A special round trip organized by easyJet between Glasgow and Seville sold out very quickly. It is possible that other flights will be put in place.
Obvious alternative routes are to Madrid or Malaga, which have excellent train connections to Seville within two or three hours.
But partly due to reduced connectivity due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are no direct flights from either Scottish airport the day before or after the final to either city.
Search by The Independent indicates that the more time fans can spend in Spain, the cheaper the trip will be.
Gers supporters who have time to spend a week’s holiday on the Costa del Sol will be able to travel from Malaga to Seville by train for the match.
Fast trains take less than two hours and cost £65 return, with slower services at £35 return.
They can book a package with Tui from Manchester for around £380 including accommodation; lowest prices from Scottish airports are almost twice as high.
Unfortunately, the last return train from Seville to Malaga on May 18 leaves just before the 9pm kick-off, and nothing more until 6.50am the following day.
Accommodation in the host city is extremely expensive, with Booking.com offering just one room for less than £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 the morning of the game from Edinburgh to Barcelona, arriving at 10.20am – giving 10 hours to cover the 1,000km (625 miles) drive to Seville. .
After the match, they will have to return directly in time for the return flight at 10:25.
The return journey is currently selling via Ryanair for £144, an increase of 12% within hours.