London Stansted welcomes dozens of extra football flights to Madrid and Baku

30 May London Stansted welcomes dozens of extra football flights to Madrid and Baku

London Stansted is on course for what is likely to be one of the busiest weeks of the year as thousands of fans jet out to three major sporting events.

The airport’s first Airbus A380 passenger flight is just one of 40 additional football flights, taking supporters from Arsenal and Chelsea to the Europa League final in Baku, while Liverpool and Spurs meet in the Champions League Final in Madrid on Saturday.

With most schools on half term, Ryanair has added extra flights to satisfy the huge demand among fans, as regular scheduled services to popular holiday destinations in Spain and southern France are already fully booked.

In addition, Portuguese specialist charter airline, Hi Fly, will jet 300 boxing fans to New York on their A380 to see Antony Joshua’s heavyweight showdown against Andy Ruiz.

Joining the A380 superjumbo this week are a number of other aircraft not usually seen at Stansted, including Boeing 747s, Airbus A340s and several private jets.
Nick Millar, Operations Director at London Stansted Airport, said:

“This week is shaping up to be a very busy and complex time for our operations and terminal teams, particularly those working on the airfield. We will see several large aircraft that wouldn’t usually operate from London Stansted on a regular basis, including our first ever Airbus A380 passenger flight.

“The volume of flights and complexity of this week’s operations is not without its challenges, but we’re well used to dealing with high-profile and large-scale flight operations, including the 2012 Olympics, the Champions League Final in London and the arrival of Air Force One on numerous occasions.”