By Zoe Hollis
East Midlands Airport (EMA) have put on a flight to Russia for fans wishing to travel to the venue of England’s World Cup quarter-final against Sweden.
England take on Sweden at 3pm UK time at the Cosmos Arena in Samara with fans having scrambled for tickets after the Three Lions beat Colombia on penalties on Tuesday (July 3).
There were no direct flights scheduled from the UK to Samar but EMA have put a plane on for 102 fans.
The flight leaves EMA at 2am tomorrow morning (Saturday July 7) and returns back in the UK at 3am on Sunday (July 8) morning.
Conan Busby, East Midlands Airport’s aviation development manager, has been working together with Sport Options Ltd to arrange the flight.
He said: “I’m delighted we’re able to accommodate this flight and provide England fans with an opportunity to see what could be a momentous match.
“As the UK’s busiest pure cargo airport, we have a 24-hour operation including flights throughout the night.
“Therefore we’ve been able to slot a one-off passenger flight into the busy cargo schedule.”
The large city of Samar is capital of the Samara region which is hosting six World Cup matches.
Situated more than 1000 km to the south-east of Moscow, the flight to Samar will take five hours.
Due to the three-hour time difference, fans will arrive with more than enough time to relax – or at least try to – before the game.
