Lift-Off for the new Europa League - League Phase MD1 25 September 2024

Just like the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League this year kicks off with an exclusive week and matches played over two days rather than all on one day. A total of 36 teams qualified for the league phased that has the same structure as in the Champions League. Compared to previous years, no teams parachute from one competition to another once the season proper has started. This also means that the winners of the previous year's UEFA Europa League (Atalanta Bergamo in this case) will not have the chance to defend their title. All in all, the new format should provide exciting fixtures however, even if the league phase has been extended by two games compared to the "old" group stage.

25 September 2024

Bodø/Glimt vs. FC Porto

18.45h, Aspmyra Stadium, Bodø

Having only finished 3rd in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, FC Porto face a trip up to the North where they face Bodø/Glimt in the first round of the league phase. For the 4,5h flight from Porto do Bodø, the team uses widebody equipment in form of a EuroAtlantic Airways Boeing 777-200/ER.

YU709P LIS 0950-1040 OPO B772 CS-TSX (24/09/24, ferry flight)

YU1893 OPO 1510-2030 BOO B772 CS-TSX (24/09/24)

YU1893 BOO 1200-1530 OPO B772 CS-TSX (26/09/24)

AZ Alkmaar vs. Elfsborg

18.45h, AZ Stadion, Alkmaar

Two of the smaller teams in the competition face off in the first round. It is no big surprise that the charter flight for Elfsborg is also a rather small one - Frost Air with one of their Saab 2000 aircraft.

FRO81 GOT 1500-1630 AMS SB20 OY-FSD (24/09/24)

Manchester United vs. Twente Enschede

21.00h (20.00h local time), Old Trafford, Manchester

The UEFA Europa League may not be Manchester United's aim in terms of European football. But in years of lesser success, they have to make do with opponents like Twente Enschede rather than the big clubs that play in the Champions League. Both the Twente FC team and a group of supporters will first head to Germany, where the flights depart from Münster-Osnabrück to Manchester.

EZE959 HUY 0700-0905 FMO E170 G-CMLI (24/09/24, ferry flight)

EZE9599 FMO 1100-1130 MAN E170 G-CMLI (24/09/24)

FRO903 HAM 0930-1010 FMO SB20 OY-FSB (24/09/24, ferry flight)

FRO003 FMO xxxx-1135 MAN SB20 (25/09/24)

EZE9600 MAN 1400-xxxx FMO E170 (26/09/24)

FRO004 MAN 1400-xxxx FMO SB20 (26/09/24)

G-CMPI, Eastern Airways, EMB-170

seen at Luton in May 2024

OGC Nice vs. Real Sociedad San Sebastian

21.00h, Allianz Riviera, Nice

This season's Spanish representatives in the UEFA Europa League are exclusively from the Basque country. Real Sociedad qualified for the secondary European Cup by virtue of finishing 6th in La Liga. Their opponents away at first are OGC Nice, 5th of the French Ligue 1 in the 2023-24 season. The travel arrangements include the typical late night return to Vitoria instead of the departure port, owing to night flight restrictions at San Sebastian Donostia airport. And not just this - the outbound flight departs from nearby Pamplona as well.

ENT555 PNA xxxx-1240 NCE B738 (24/09/24)

ENT558 NCE 0115-xxxx VIT B738 (26/09/24)

Ludogorets Razgrad vs. Sparta Prague

21.00h (22.00h local time), Huvepharma Arena, Razgrad

For Bulgarian champions Ludogorets, it will be two Czech opponents in as many weeks, starting with Sparta Prague who also started their international campaign in the UEFA Champions League qualifier rounds. For the two-hour trip to Bulgaria, Sparta will once again count on the services of Smartwings and one of their Boeing 737-800s - regular guests to Varna on charter flights as well.

Update: Smartwings sent A320 ZS-GAC, on lease from Global Aviation in South Africa for this job.

QS4344 PRG 1530-1835 VAR A320 ZS-GAC (23/09/24)

QS4345 VAR 1400-1510 PRG B738 (26/09/24)

Dynamo Kyiv vs. SS Lazio Rome

21.00h, Volkspark, Hamburg

Dynamo Kyiv are forced to play their home matches in exile and will do so in Hamburg. First up, they will host Lazio, who will arrive from Rome with Aeroitalia. At the same time, Dynamo Kyiv will also arrive in Hamburg by plane, using LOT for the trip over from Lublin.

LO7237 LUZ 1100-1250 HAM E75S SP-LIK (24/09/24)

LO7236 HAM 1340-1505 WAW E75S SP-LIL (24/09/24, ferry flight)

XZ8822 FCO 1545-1815 HAM B738 9H-GAE (24/09/24)

XZ8823 HAM 1030-xxxx FCO B738 (26/09/24)

LO7283 HAM 1700-xxxx LUZ (26/09/24)

Galatasaray Istanbul vs. PAOK Saloniki

21.00h (22.00h local time), Rams Park (Ali Sami Yen), Istanbul

It is a short trip and a late departure for PAOK on the way over to Istanbul. Aegean Airlines will do the job with one of their Airbus A320s.

AEE4190 SKG 1730-1830 IST A320 SX-DVV (24/09/24)

AEE6192 IST 1930-2045 SKG A320 SX-DVV (24/09/24, ferry flight)

UEFA EL, R32 first leg, 12-14 February 2019

14 February 2019

Malmö FF vs. Chelsea

Chelsea were not looking to hang around against the Swedish champions. They opened the scoring in the 30th minute through Ross Barkley and Olivier Giroud scored another in the second half. Malmö FF at least managed to claim one goal, scored by Anders Christiansen late into the second half. Chelsea returned back home to London the same night, counting on the excellent service of GainJet, a specialist in this business with its Boeing 757-200:

AWC321 LGW 1400-1630 MMX A320 G-POWK (13/02/19)

GNJ57 LGW 1530-1815 MMX B752 SX-RFA (13/02/19)
GNJ57 MMX xxxx-xxxx LGW B752 SX-RFA (15/02/19)

BATE Borisov vs. Arsenal

AWC311 LTN 1345-1930 MSQ A321 G-POWU (13/02/19)

AWC312 MSQ 0055-xxxx LTN A321 G-POWU (15/02/19)

SS Lazio Roma vs. Sevilla FC

PVG1890 SVQ 0900-xxxx FCO B763

Rennes FC vs. Real Betis Sevilla

PVG1907 SVQ 0930-xxxx RNS B752

Celtic Glasgow vs. Valencia CF

YW2001 VLC 1230-xxxx GLA CRJX

Club Brugge vs. FC Salzburg

ST102 NUE xxxx-1200 SZG A321 (ferry flt)

ST1020 SZG 1300-xxxx OST A321

ST1188 CGN 0930-1530 KRR A321

Shakhtar Donezk vs. Eintracht Frankfurt

XG3899 FRA 0840-1245 HRK B738

AXY1301 FRA 1000-1355 HRK B735

UEFA EL, GS MD6, 13 December 2018

13 December 2018

It is not very often that the "little brother" takes the UEFA Champions League out of the limelight, particularly when it comes to air travel. The UCL matches usually attract an audience far superior to what the second-string teams in the UEL do. But for once, this changes a little. Some very keen sets of supporters have chosen to dig deep apparently and will travel long ways to see their clubs of choice. This means that there will be rather unusual extra flights for FC Zürich supporters to Varna (on the way to Razgrad), for Salzburg supporters to Glasgow and for the particularly numerous support of Eintracht Frankfurt to Rome:

Ludogorets Razgrad vs. FC Zürich

KRP2853 ZRH xxxx-1250 VAR F100 (12/12/18)

ST1050 ZRH xxxx-1230 VAR A319 (13/12/18)

KRP2854 VAR 1230-xxxx ZRH F100 (14/12/18)

ST1051 VAR 1300-xxxx ZRH A319 (14/12/18)

AEK Larnaca vs. Bayer 04 Leverkusen

QS4648 CGN 1000-xxxx LCA B3M8 (12/12/18)

QS4649 LCA xxxx-1415 CGN B3M8 (14/12/18)

Arsenal vs. Qarabag Agdam

AHY5207 GYD 1800-1930 LTN A320 (11/12/18)
AHY5208 LTN 2030-0530(+1) GYD A320 (11/12/18)
AHY5207 GYD 2240-0005(+1) LTN A320 (13/12/18)
AHY5208 LTN 0100-1000 GYD A320 (14/12/18)

CF Sevilla vs. FK Krasnodar

UT9009 KRR xxxx-1400 SVQ B735 (12/12/18)

UT9010 SVQ 2230-xxxx(+1) KRR B735 (13/12/18)

Celtic Glasgow vs. FC Salzburg

ENT536P CDG xxxx-1200 SZG B738 (12/12/18, ferry flt)

ENT535 SZG 1300-xxxx GLA B738 (12/12/18)

TUI8908F DUS xxxx-1000 SZG B738 (13/12/18, ferry flt)

TUI8908 SZG 1100-xxxx GLA B738 (13/12/18)

TUI8909 GLA xxxx-0605 SZG B738 (14/12/18)

TUI8909F SZG 0655-xxxx DUS B738 (14/12/18, ferry flt)

ENT536 GLA xxxx-1430 SZG B738 (14/12/18)

ENT536P SZG 1515-xxxx WAW B738 (14/12/18, ferry flt)

FC Kopenhagen vs. Girondins de Bordeaux

QS4658 BOD 0900-xxxx CPH B738 (12/12/18)

QS4659 CPH xxxx-0325 BOD B738 (14/12/18)

F91 Dudeldange vs. Real Betis Sevilla

PVG1907 SVQ 1015-xxxx LUX B763 EC-LZO (12/12/18)

PVG2007 LUX xxxx-1300 BCN 1400-1530 SVQ B752 (14/12/18)

SS Lazio Roma vs. SG Eintracht Frankfurt

LG7641 FRA 1145-1330 FCO B738 (12/12/18)

SDR8040 FRA 0705-0850 FCO A320 (13/12/18)

XG3899 FRA 0725-0920 FCO B738 (13/12/18)

TUI8934 FRA 0810-1000 FCO B738 (13/12/18)

TUI8946 FRA 0930-1120 FCO B738 (13/12/18)

TUI8935 FCO 0300-0510 FRA B738 (14/12/18)

XG4580 FCO 0300-0510 FRA B738 (14/12/18)

SDR8059 FCO 0430-0620 FRA A320 (14/12/18)

LG7642 FCO 1210-1355 FRA B738 (14/12/18)

TUI8947 FCO 1700-1910 FRA B738 (14/12/18)

RB Leipzig vs. Rosenborg Trondheim

DY9010 TRD xxxx-1405 LEJ B738 (12/12/18)
DY9011 LEJ 1305-xxxx TRD B738 (14/12/18)

Spartak Trnava vs. Fenerbahce Istanbul

FH1907 IST xxxx-1150 BTS A320 (12/12/18)

SK Rapid Wien vs. Rangers FC

LS6671 GLA xxxx-1225 BTS B738 (12/12/18)
LS6689 EDI xxxx-1245 BTS B738 (12/12/18)
LS6730 GLA xxxx-1310 BTS B738 (12/12/18)
ZT1941 GLA xxxx-1445 VIE A321 (12/12/18)
LS6672 BTS 2355-xxxx(+1) GLA B738 (13/12/18)

UEFA EL, QF 1st leg, 5 April 2018

5 April 2018

Atletico Madrid vs. Sporting CP

PVG6995 LIS xxxx-1730 MAD B763 EC-LZO (04/04/18)

Lazio Roma vs. FC Salzburg

ENT587P BIO xxxx-1200 SZG B738 (04/04/18)

ENT587 SZG 1300-xxxx FCO B738 (04/04/18)

ENT547P FCO xxxx-0800 SZG B738

ENT547 SZG 0900-xxxx FCO B738

TUI8904F STR xxxx-0810 SZG B737

TUI8904 SZG 0900-xxxx FCO B737

Arsenal vs. CSKA Moscow

SU7056 SVO 1035-1230 LTN A320 (04/04/18)
SU7057 LTN xxxx-xxxx SVO A320 (04/04/18)
SU7056 SVO 2155-xxxx LTN A320 (05/04/18)
SU7057 LTN xxxx-0640 SVO A320 (06/04/18)

RB Leipzig vs. Olympique Marseille

AEH611 MRS xxxx-1155 LEJ E145 (04/04/18)

UEFA EL, GS MD3, 19 October 2017

FC Lugano vs. Viktoria Plzen (in Lucerne)

QS4836 PRG 0935-1055 ZRH B738 (18/10/17)

Red Star Belgrade vs. Arsenal

ZT841 LTN 1430-1810 BEG B752 (18/10/17)
ST6364 STN 0740-1100 BEG A319

FC Astana vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv

QS3146 TLV 1100-2000 TSE B738 OK-TVT (17/10/17)

Vardar Skopje vs. Real Sociedad San Sebastian

PVG6997 BIO 1145-1505 SKP B763 EC-LZO (18/10/17)
PVG6998 SKP 2305-xxxx(+1) VIT B763 EC-LZO (19/10/17)

TSG Hoffenheim vs. Istanbul Basaksehir

TK3341 IST 1130-1335 FRA B738 (18/10/17)

Zenit St. Petersburg vs. Rosenborg Trondheim

DX5631 TRD 1000-1250 LED MD83 (18/10/17)
DX5632 LED 2355-0045(+1) TRD MD83 (19/10/17)

OGC Nice vs. SS Lazio Rome

AZ9026 FCO 1600-1745 NCE E175 (18/10/17)
AZ9027 NCE 2300-xxxx FCO E175

Zorya Lugansk vs. Hertha BSC Berlin (in Lviv)

PWF6000 TXL 0930-xxxx LWO D328 (18/10/17)
PWF5990 TXL 0935-xxxx LWO D328 (18/10/17)

Östersund vs. Athletic Bilbao

ENT580 BIO xxxx-1255 OSD B738 (18/10/17)
ENT581 OSD 2240-xxxx(+1) VIT B738 (19/10/17)

Olympique Marseille vs. Vitoria Guimaraes

PVG531P LIS 0630-0730 OPO A320 CS-TRO (18/10/17, ferry flt)
PVG5332 OPO 0900-xxxx MRS A320 CS-TRO (18/10/17)
PVG5332 MRS xxxx-0210 OPO A320 CS-TRO (19/10/17)
PVG532P OPO 0300-0400 LIS A320 CS-TRO (20/10/17, ferry flt)

Konyaspor vs. FC Salzburg

FHY537 AYT xxxx-xxxx ZRH xxxx-1210 SZG A320 (18/10/17, ferry flt)
FHY538 SZG 1300-xxxx KYA A320 (18/10/17)
FHY537 KYA xxxx-0900 SZG A320 (20/10/17)
FHY538 SZG 0950-xxxx DUS xxxx-xxxx AYT A320 (20/10/17, ferry flt)

Everton FC vs. Olympique Lyonnais

TDR333 LYS 1030-1135 LPL F100 9A-BTE (18/10/17)
TDR9298 LPL 1435-xxxx TRD F100 9A-BTE (18/10/17, ferry flt)
QS4842 LYS 1000-xxxx LPL B738
TDR334 LPL xxxx-0325 LYS F100 (20/10/17)
QS4843 LPL xxxx-0405 LYS B738 (20/10/17)