Airlines put on extra flights as England fans travel to Euro 2024 final

Airlines are putting on extra flights as tens of thousands of England football fans travel to Germany for the Euro 2024 final.

British Airways said it will operate two additional flights from Heathrow to Berlin on Sunday, where England’s match against Spain takes place at 8pm BST.

This will boost the carrier’s seat capacity for travel to the German capital by “nearly 30%”, a spokesperson said.

Extra capacity has also been added for return flights on Monday to bring fans home.

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British Airways saw a surge in demand for air travel to Berlin following England’s semi-final victory over the Netherlands on Wednesday night, peaking 11 minutes after the final whistle at 10.05pm.

Ryanair announced it will operate two extra return flights from Stansted to Berlin, departing on Sunday and returning on Monday.

The airline’s head of communications Jade Kirwan said: “To facilitate the unprecedented demand from England fans looking to cheer on the Three Lions in Berlin this Sunday, we’ve added over 1,500 extra seats between London Stansted and Berlin.

“These extra flights are expected to sell out quickly, so avoid disappointment and book now at ryanair.com.”

Analysis by the PA news agency on Thursday found many flights were sold out and airlines with spare capacity were charging five times more to travel before the game compared with a week later.

All of Ryanair’s 21 pre-planned flights from UK airports to Berlin between Thursday and the final have sold out.

EasyJet’s 12 flights to Berlin from Birmingham, Bristol, Luton and Gatwick between Friday and the match were also fully booked.

The airline was charging £918 for a seat on a flight from Gatwick to the German capital on Thursday night – compared with £167 a week later – but that service was later sold out.

At the lower end of the scale, the carrier had flights from Manchester to Berlin for £134 on Thursday night and £179 on Friday night.

An easyJet spokesperson said: “Although we don’t artificially put fares up, our pricing is demand-led.”

Hotel prices in Berlin have also rocketed.

A one-night stay at the Holiday Inn Berlin City Centre East P-Berg costs £345 on Sunday night, but £105 seven days later for the same type of room.

The Courtyard Berlin City Centre is charging £657 for Sunday night in its cheapest available room, but £108 the following Sunday for a more basic room.

Many supporters who have not already purchased a match ticket are unlikely to obtain one as the game is sold out on Uefa’s website.

A limited number of tickets were available to England Supporters Travel Club members who have been to a number of previous England matches.