Foxes off to Portugal, Bulgarians at Tottenham - UEFA Europa League 26 November 2020

CSKA Sofia vs. BSC Young Boys

The Swiss champions need to make sure to win this game as well after convincingly beating CSKA at home already. They need the three points from this match to be able to put CFJ Cluj under pressure for a spot in the knockout stages in spring. They will travel to Bulgaria with Trade Air instead of Helvetic Airways:

TDR700 BRN xxxx-1300 SOF F100 (25/11/20)

CFR Cluj vs. AS Roma

Roma are the favourites in their pool and made this tell so far. Cluj definitely need more points and may see a chance against a side that may just take the foot off the gas for this midweek fixture. Roma will travel to Romania with Alitalia:

AZ8950 FCO 1500-xxxx CLJ A319 (25/11/20)

FK Molde vs. Arsenal

Arsenal are one of the few teams yet to have won every single game in this group stage. They traveled to Molde with Titan Airways, using one of the Boeing 757-200s:

AWC783 LTN 1430-1745 MOL B752 G-ZAPX (24/11)

AWC784 MOL 2330-xxxx(+1) LTN B752 G-ZAPX (26/11/20)

Dundalk vs. SK Rapid Wien

The Austrian team are not traveling with Austrian Airlines for once, but count on Croatia Airlines to do the job from Vienna to Dublin, where they will play against Dundalk:

OU8491 VIE xxxx-1110 DUB A319 (25/11/20)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs. Hapoel Be'er Sheva

Many would have thought that Bayer Leverkusen should have nine points by now. They only have six and sit in second position. It seems obvious that they would want to get a maximum haul againt Be'er Sheva, which so far has managed to beat Slavia Prague, but lost in Nice and at home against Bayer. Hapoel will arrive at Cologne with El Al:

LY251 TLV 1600-1930 CGN B738 (24/11/20)

LY252 CGN 0230-0730 TLV B738 (27/11/20)

OGC Nice vs. Slavia Prague

Rather surprisingly, Slavia Prague are in a formidable position, leading the group at the half-way point, while Nice are sitting in third position, desperate for a win to maintain their chances. Slavia will arrive from Prague with Smartwings.

QS4364 PRG xxxx-1920 NCE B738 (24/11/20)

QS4365 NCE 1100-xxxx PRG B738 (27/11/20)

Standard Liège vs. Lech Poznan

Standard and Lech are the two bottom teams in Pool D and this will not change after this fixture. The leaders are too far away. If Standard lose the game, their hopes of European football will be dashed already. Lech will travel from Poland with Enter Air, using a Boeing 737-800:

ENT689 POZ xxxx-1225 LGG B738 (25/11/20)

ENT690 LGG 2330-xxxx(+1) POZ B738 (26/11/20)

Granada vs. Omonia Nicosia

The Cypriot team are off to one of the surprises in this season's competition in Granada. Not many would have expected Granada to make the Europa League at all. But here they are, hosting Omonia in a clash of European lightweights:

AEE4990 LCA xxxx-1500 GRX A320 (25/11/20)

AZ Alkmaar vs. Real Sociedad San Sebastian

LAV5283 EAS 1030-xxxx AMS B738 (25/11/20)

SC Braga vs. Leicester City

Along with an impressive run of form in the domestic arena, Leicester City are also motoring along in the Europa League, as one of just four teams to have won all three group stage games so far. A win in Portugal will put them almost certainly into the knockout stage. They will travel to Porto with Air Horizont, on a Boeing 737-400.

HAT2030 EMA 1100-1325 OPO B734 9H-MPW (25/11/20)

HAT2031 OPO 2300-0130(+1) EMA B734 9H-MPW (26/11/20)

HAT2031 OPO 1230-1500 EMA B734 9H-MPW (27/11/20)

Air Horizont Boeing 737-400 at Berlin-Schönfeld for the 2015 Champions League Final

Linzer ASK vs. Royal Antwerp FC

Three teams have six points each in Pool J, with LASK being one of them. Royal Antwerp are the surprise package so far, even scoring a 1-0 win over group favourites Tottenham in the second round. The Belgians will travel to Austria with TUI Belgium, on one of the EMB-190s that were acquired specifically for flights from and to the small airport of Antwerp.

TB9333 ANR 1000-1130 LNZ E190 (25/11/20)

TB9334 LNZ 1130-1300 ANR E190 (27/11/20)

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Ludogorets Razgrad

Spurs were rated as the big favourites for this group, if not for the competition. Their away defeat in Belgium against Royal Antwerp may have come as a surprise, but they will look to book in another three points at home against Ludogorets, who do not look quite as strong as in past seasons. In fact, the Bulgarians have lost all three games so far.

BUC1945 VAR 1010-xxxx STN A320 (25/11/20)

BUC1946 STN xxxx-0600 VAR A320 (27/11/20)

Sparta Prague vs. Celtic Glasgow

After three matches, Celtic are desperate for points. Ideally, they need to win in Prague to keep their hopes alive. They will travel there with Jet2.

LS6128 GLA 1430-1755 PRG B738 (25/11/20)

LS6129 PRG 2315-0045(+1) GLA B738 (26/11/20)

Glasgow Rangers vs. SL Benfica

Benfica will travel to Ibrox with TAP Air Portugal, though the exact type of aircraft is not clear just yet.

TP9102 LIS 1600-xxxx GLA (25/11/20)

UEFA Europa League Group Stage Round 3 - 5 November 2020

Time is at a premium for me at the moment, so for a few weeks, I had to leave aside any following of Europa League charter traffic. Well, almost. There was of course plenty going on last Thursday night, and with less air traffic in our skies than usual, charter flights are a lot more visible, especially late at night after the 21.00h kickoffs across the continent. So here is a non-comprehensive report of what was out and about, flying for various teams for the Europa League games of 5 November 2020:

5 November 2020

Lech Poznan vs. Standard Liège

The two bottom teams of pool B met for the first of two meetings within four weeks. Host Lech came out the better, beating the Belgian visitors by 3-1 goals. Still, Lech are sitting four points behind joint leaders Benfica and Rangers, so advancing to the knockout stages will prove to be difficult.

TB9120 LGG 0945-1115 POZ B738 OO-TUX (04/11/20)

TB9130 POZ 2337-0048(+1) LGG B738 OO-TUX (05/11/20)

SK Rapid Wien vs. Dundalk FC

Dundalk are representing the Republic of Ireland in the competition, and while they are still without points this time round, at least they gave the more fancied Rapid a good run for the money. Rapid won 4-3, but Dundalk will be hot for the revenge on 26 November up at the Aviva - unfortunately without Rapid's usually numerous travelling support.

ENT54WN DUB 1004-1321 VIE B738 SP-ESG (03/11/20)

ENT57UE VIE 0015-0122 DUB B738 SP-ESG (06/11/20)

Slavia Prague vs. OGC Nice

Nice had a night to forget away in the Czech Capital, losing 2-3 against Slavia. Still, they will get revenge soon, on 26 November at home against the same opposition. Having Bayer Leverkusen and Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the same group will not help much though. A trip to the knockout stages will require a lot of hard work.

VOE9286 NCE 0915-1034 PRG A319 EC-NHP (04/11/20)

VOE9287 PRG 2322-0043(+1) NCE A319 EC-NHP (05/11/20)

AS Roma vs. CFR Cluj

Roma are sitting pretty in pool A, after an away win in Bern, a dull 0-0 against CSKA Sofia at home and now an absolute spanking of CFR Cluj. Several high-profile players were not even required against a very average Cluj team that count themselves lucky to have four points on the counter already.

VBB3277 CLJ 1054-1138 FCO B733 LZ-MVK (04/11/20)

VBB3278 FCO 2359-0237(+1) OTP B733 LZ-MVK (05/11/20)

Cluj returned to Bucharest and not their home town, because they will play their next league fixture in Bucharest, against FC Voluntari.

BSC Young Boys vs. CSKA Sofia

It is not often that a small airline would cover both games within one pool. But within pool A, both matches were covered by ALK Airways, with two Boeing 737-300s. LZ-LVK took CSKA Sofia from Sofia to Basel-Mulhouse and back, with the rest of the journey from Basel to Berne undertaken by bus. CSKA had a nightmare start to the game, shipping three goals with some schoolboy errors to say the least. Surely they will blame the plastic pitch in Berne for this, as does pretty much every team as well.

VBB3273 SOF 0930-1041 BSL B733 LZ-LVL (04/11/20)

VBB3274 BSL 1043-1348 SOF B733 LZ-LVL (06/11/20)

Ludogorets Razgrad vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Former Champions League finalists Tottenham are plying their international trade in the Europa League this season. Away in Bulgaria, they won 3-1 at Ludogorets, which for once is one of two teams in international competition for Bulgaria this season.

BRO20 STN 1530-2049 VAR B733 G-TGPG (04/11/20)

BRO20 VAR 0030-0142 STN B733 G-TGPG (06/11/20)

Arsenal vs. FK Molde

Norwegian champions Molde may have fancied their chances away in London, and they even took the lead, right on track for a third win in three games in their pool. Arsenal had other ideas however and put away the game 3-1 in the end.

WX9366 MOL 1000-1112 LTN CRJ EI-GEA (04/11/20)

WX9367 LTN 0005-0357 MOL CRJ9 EI-GEA (06/11/20)

AC Milan vs. OSC Lille

It was a memorable night for OSC Lille. Not many French teams go the mighty San Siro and just win a game 3-0. Of course, the place was entirely empty. But yet not many UEL group stage games have the potential to even half fill a stadium that seat comfortably more than 80'000 spectators.

WH823 MXP 0150-0259 LIL E190 D-ACJJ (06/11/20)

Celtic Glasgow vs. Sparta Prague

QS4382 PRG 0945-1100 GLA B737 OK-SWT (04/11/20)

QS4383 GLA 0030-0330 PRG B737 OK-SWT (06/11/20)

Villarreal CF vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv

6H175 TLV 1000-1330 CDT A320 4X-ABI (04/11/20)

6H176 CDT 0415-0930 TLV A320 4X-ABI (06/11/20)

Zorya Lugansk vs. AEK Athens (in Zaporozhye)

AEE4028 ATH 1000-1230 OZH A320 SX-DGD (04/11/20)

AEE4029 OZH 0230-0445 ATH A320 SX-DGD (06/11/20)

Feyenoord Rotterdam vs. CSKA Moscow

SU7004 SVO 1000-1130 RTM A320 VQ-BCM (04/11/20)

SU7005 RTM 1500-2000 SVO A320 VQ-BCM (06/11/20)

PAOK Saloniki vs. PSV Eindhoven

HV7013 EIN 1100-1430 SKG B738 PH-HXB (04/11/20)

HV7014 SKG 1100-1245 EIN B738 PH-HXB (06/11/20)

UEFA Europa League is back - LASK at Manchester United

Yes, the UEFA Europa League is finally back from 5 August, with the Round of 16 getting completed in empty home grounds across Europe. Two ties will be settled in one match after the first legs got called off in March, while six other will continue where the teams left off after the first legs.

5 August 2020

Manchester United vs. LASK Linz

The 2017 champions set a good foundation away in Austria already, beating the Austrian outfit 5-0. They will host LASK at an empty Old Trafford for a return leg that really seems academical in nature. 90 minutes' football have to be played first though and it will be a chance for LASK to shine in an unfamiliar surrounding. LAS will travel to Manchester with Maleth-Aero, most probably their Boeing 737-500 9H-MAC, which sees pretty regular use for sports charters.

MLT552F STN xxxx-1200 LNZ B735 (04/08/20, ferry flt)

MLT552 LNZ 1300-1430 MAN B735 (04/08/20)

MLT553 MAN 1230-1715 LNZ B735 (06/08/20)

MLT553F LNZ 1800-xxxx STN B735 (06/08/20, ferry flt)

9H-MAC, Maleth-Aero, Boeing 737-500
arriving at Basel-Mulhouse with part of the Manchester United entourage in 2018

Inter Milan vs. Getafe (in Gelsenkirchen)

Called off in March, this fixture will be played in one game on a neutral ground, at FC Schalke 04's ground in Gelsenkirchen. Inter has secured second spot in Italy meanwhile, while Getafe has missed out on qualifying for European competition again, finishing on 8th spot in La Liga. Getafe will arrive in Cologne with Privilege Style and one of their two B757s, while Inter will get a lift from Alitalia, flying from Malpensa to Düsseldorf on an A319.

PVG7995 MAD xxxx-1155 CGN B752 (04/08/20)

AZ9018 MXP 1030-1200 DUS A319 (04/08/20)

FC Kopenhagen vs. Istanbul Basaksehir

The newly crowned champions of Turkey will try to defend a slender lead away from home. FCK were on a roll however before the competition got interrupted in March, beating Celtic Glasgow in the first K.O. round.

TK3233 IST 1200-1410 CPH B738 (04/08/20)

TK3234 CPH 1515-1925 IST B738 (04/08/20, ferry flt)

TK3233 IST 0845-1055 CPH B738 (06/08/20, ferry flt)

TK3234 CPH 1200-1610 IST B738 (06/08/20)

Shakhtar Donezk vs. VfL Wolfsburg (in Kyiv)

Shakhtar will host the "Wolves" in Kyiv for a return leg where the latter will not have much to lose. The Ukrainian side won the first leg 2-1 away from home, so the Germans will have half a mountain to climb in their away game.

WL610 BWE xxxx-1525 IEV E190 (04/08/20)

Double Aegean for APOEL - Europa League 26-27 February 2020

26 February 2020

SC Braga vs. Glasgow Rangers

Because of two games in the greater Porto area, Braga are forced to play their return fixture against Rangers on a Wednesday already. To avoid the Champions League matches later in the evening, this game will have to start at 18.00h local time already, at least allowing the Rangers fans to return home to Scotland early.

ZT5051 GLA xxxx-1650 OPO A321 (25/02/20)

LS6039 GLA 0605-0850 OPO B738

LS6041 GLA 0610-0855 OPO B738

LS6040 OPO 2200-0045(+1) GLA B738

LS6042 OPO 2210-0055(+1) GLA B738

ZT5052 OPO 2130-xxxx GLA A321

27 February 2020

FC Basel vs. APOEL Nicosia

For the return leg in Basel, APOEL appears to travel with quite a lot of supporters. This means that some months after Aegean Airlines left the EuroAirport, they will be back with not just one, but actually two A320s at once, both arriving from Larnaca the day before the game:

AEE4090 LCA xxxx-1255 BSL A320 (26/02/20)

AEE4092 LCA xxxx-1305 BSL A320 (26/02/20)

AEE4091 BSL 1030-xxxx LCA A320 (28/02/20)

AEE4093 BSL 1045-xxxx LCA A320 (28/02/20)

Ajax, Porto and Inter on the road - Europa League 20 February 2020

20 February 2020

Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Arsenal

Arsenal travelled to Greece on a widebody plane, Boeing 767-300/ER ZS-NEX, which has seen quite some use on behalf of Premier League teams in the past. The rather private nature of these flights made it difficult to track them however.

ARN219 STN 1421-1916 ATH B763 ZS-NEX (19/02/20)

FC Brugge vs. Manchester United

Manchester United are playing the UEL once again and at least have made it through to the  round of 32 in what otherwise looks like a very difficult season. They face a trip to Belgium, where they will play against FC Brugge:

GDA**** MAN 1000-xxxx OST E190 (19/02/2020)

GDA**** OST xxxx-2215 MAN E190 (20/02/2020)

Info courtesy of AlphaFive from Manchester.

VfL Wolfsburg vs. Malmö FF

Malmö are a team that is capable of anything and for once they made it to the round of 32 in the UEL, where they will face a Wolfsburg team that sits right in the middle of the table in the Bundesliga.

DW769 MMX 1100-xxxx BWE E195 (19/02/20)
DW769 BWE xxxx-0200 MMX E195 (21/02/20)

Shakhtar Donezk vs. SL Benfica

Benfica has a long trip on hand to face Shakhtar at their exile in Kharkov. They will travel there on 18 February 2020 already, with two planes.

MLT892 LIS 1455-xxxx HRK B735 9H-VOX (18/02/20)
PVG7885 LIS 1515-xxxx HRK EC-ISY (18/02/20)

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Espanyol Barcelona

In a clash between two sides not very used to international football, Espanyol will travel to Wolverhampton first up. Espanyol will use a KlasJet B737-500 for this trip. There will be a charter flight for the supporters as well, on a Privilege Style B757-200.

KLJ3270 BCN 1030-xxxx BHX B735 (19/02/20)

PVG1900 BCN 0900-xxxx BHX B752

KLJ3271 BHX xxxx-0245 BCN B735 (21/02/20)

PVG2000 BHX xxxx-0335 BCN B752 (21/02/20)

APOEL Nicosia vs. FC Basel

The Swiss vice-champions are back to European Football in spring and are up for a long trip right away. Helvetic Airways is going to take the team to Larnaca and back with an Embraer EMB-190:

2L1362 ZRH xxxx-0700 BSL E190 (19/02/20, ferry flt)
2L8362 BSL 0800-xxxx LCA E190 (19/02/20)
2L8365 LCA xxxx-1720 BSL E190 (21/02/20)
2L1365 BSL 1820-xxxx ZRH E190 (21/02/20, ferry flt)

Sporting Lisbon vs. Istanbul Basaksehir

A very late goal away at Borussia Mönchengladbach earned Erdogan's young favourite club a spot in the last 16 of the Europa League. Now it seems that they got a little upgrade for their upcoming trip to Lisbon for what will be a true challenge for them.

TK3381 IST 0940-1130 LIS A333 (19/02/20)

TK3382 LIS 1300-2030 IST A333 (21/02/20)

FC Getafe vs. Ajax Amsterdam

The Dutch champions dropped out of the Champions League at a very late stage in the sixth round of the group stage, while Getafe finished the Europa League group stage in second place behind FC Basel. There will be two rather normal charters from Amsterdam to Madrid for this first leg match, with TUI Netherlands and Transavia.

OR7347 AMS xxxx-1535 MAD B738 (19/02/20)

HV6019 AMS xxxx-0930 MAD B738

OR7358 MAD 2300-xxxx(+1) AMS B738

HV6020 MAD 0000-xxxx AMS B738 (21/02/20)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs. FC Porto

This 19 February 2020 will be special in Porto, for there will be two HiFly A340s taking football teams to different destinations. One of them will fly to Cologne, right next to Leverkusen, where FC Porto will face Bayer Leverkusen. 

HFM631 OPO 0945-1315 CGN A343 (19/02/20)

HFM652 CGN 0150-0320 OPO A343 (21/02/20)

CFR Cluj vs. Sevilla CF

Sevilla has enjoyed a lot of success in past seasons in the Europa League, notably winning the trophy three times from 2014 to 2016. Their knock-out journey will start a long way from home, with a trip to Cluj.

ZT5071 SVQ 0900-xxxx CLJ A321 (19/02/20)

ZT5072 CLJ xxxx-1230 SVQ A321 (21/02/20)

AZ Alkmaar vs. LASK Linz

Currently Austria's next best team, LASK have earned themselves a trip to the Netherlands to face Alkmaar. LASK's European journey this season is quite long already, having played a number of rounds in the Champions League qualifiers in summer last year.

VK111P VIE 1130-1210 LNZ A320 (Ferry flt)

VK4444 LNZ 1300-1430 AMS A320

VK4445 AMS 1210-1340 LNZ A320

VK122P LNZ 1430-1510 VIE A320 (ferry flt)

Ludogorets Razgrad vs. Inter Milan

Inter are chasing after Juventus domestically, but still present in European competition as well. They will visit Ludogorets, who like many other times in recent years are the only competitive outfit from Bulgaria:

AZ9018 MXP xxxx-1710 VAR (19/02/20)

AZ9019 VAR 1100-xxxx MXP (21/02/20)

Eintracht Frankfurt vs. FC Salzburg

Seemingly overtaken by their "in-house" competition from Leipzig, Salzburg made it to the Champions League for the first time ever this season. They are back into their more familiar territory of the Europa League now, up for a trip to Frankfurt with Condor.

DE9336T FRA xxxx-1310 SZG A320 (19/02/20)

DE9337 SZG 1400-xxxx FRA A320 (19/02/20)

DE9336 FRA xxxx-1215 SZG A320 (21/02/20)

DE9337F SZG 1305-xxxx FRA A320 (21/02/20)

FC Kopenhagen vs. Celtic Glasgow

Celtic is known for a big traveling fan base and their tie in the round of 32 against Copenhagen looks nicely poised. One thing that seems certain is that there will be plenty of atmosphere at the Parken, as always when Copenhagen plays at home.

ENT561 GLA xxxx-1230 CPH B738 (19/02/20)
LS6035 GLA xxxx-1750 CPH B738 (19/02/20)

Glasgow Rangers vs. SC Braga

The other A340 of HiFly to leave Porto on 19 February 2020 will go to Glasgow, where SC Braga will face Rangers FC at Ibrox Park. Rangers have had some troubles in recent years, but they are firmly back on the European stage now.

HFM731 OPO 1030-xxxx GLA A332 CS-TQP (19/02/20)

HFM752 GLA xxxx-1630 OPO A332 CS-TQP (21/02/20)