One airline is bidding to milk Tottenham and Manchester United fans for money as the two clubs bid to reach the Europa League final.
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Tottenham are looking to secure a spot at the Europa League final in Bilbao on May 21. Spurs are in semi-final second leg action against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday night, currently 3-1 up as they head to Northern Norway to play on a tricky artificial pitch. The North London side should be confident of advancing, but if they do, they will be met by scary flight prices for fans.
It has been a miserable campaign for Tottenham, who are still yet to surpass their record-low points tally in the Premier League, but they can still salvage the campaign by ending their trophy drought and qualifying for the Champions League in the process. Should they progress, they will likely face Manchester United in the final, with the Red Devils leading Athletic Club 3-0 heading into their second leg.
Speaking ahead of the second leg, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has said: “I think it's just approaching it in the same way we have in the rest of our campaign really. You've got to be really disciplined and organised whenever you're playing away in Europe and irrespective of the scoreline,
“I think all the lads have done well and right through the campaign, particularly through the knockout stages in the second legs, whatever we've needed to do, they've done it, within the confines of our game plan and being organised, whether that was when we had to beat AZ at home and it could have got nervy and the boys handed that really well. We had to go to Frankfurt and win and tough venue and imposing atmosphere and I again I think the lads handled it really well, so it'll be a similar sort of mindset tomorrow."
He added: "I think whenever you play away from home in Europe, it is always challenging. It is always tough because obviously the opposition have the normality of the conditions and the stadium and the crowd behind them. All those kind of things make it difficult. It is no different here. I think the fact it is a semi-final and such a big game irrespective it is always going to be a bit tight and tense throughout the whole game.
“I think it is just the nature of the competition you're in and being in a semi-final, whether it was at our place first or at our place second, it would have been the same kind of scenario of two teams who know there is a big prize at the end of getting to a final."
Airlines move to exploit fans
One airline has posted scandalous prices for their flights surrounding the 2025 Europa League final in Bilbao. Evidently cottoning on to the likely demand from Tottenham and Manchester United fans travelling from London, EasyJet are currently charging £1.676 for a return flight from Gatwick to Bilbao, leaving a day before the game, on May 20, and returning on May 22, the day after the game.
For context, the same route with Vueling in June would cost you just £67, leaving on a Tuesday and coming back on a Thursday. That’s a price difference of £1609. For further context, the longest possible flight from London is Santiago de Chile, covering 7,227 miles. That flight would cost you £944 for a return on the same dates as the trip to Bilbao, which is 556 miles.
Thankfully, there are alternative routes for Tottenham fans should they reach the final, including a direct ferry or taking the Eurotunnel from Folkestone and making the 12-hour or so drive through France to Bilbao. But the airlines are clearly seeking to exploit fans making the trip to Northern Spain for the final.