Sunday, September 8, 2024

England fans face Euro 2024 final travel misery with no direct flights left to Berlin

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There appear to be no more direct return flights from the UK to Berlin for the European Championship final following England’s dramatic semi-final victory against Netherlands.

Fans planning to fly from Britain to the Three Lions’ first major final on foreign soil face travelling via other airports in order to make it to Germany for Sunday’s game.

According to Skyscanner, there are flights still available on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday via other destinations, although none of the trips are straightforward.

Travelling on Thursday or Friday will incur extra accommodation costs, while return flights on Saturday are fast approaching £1,000.

There is one for as little as £360 but the outbound plane takes off at 6.50am from Heathrow and lands in Brussels, with the connection not arriving in Berlin until 10.15pm.

Similarly-priced flights on Sunday do not arrive until almost three hours before kick-off, giving little time to get to the match.

Round trip by train nearly £700

Indirect flights via Hamburg at around the £300 mark are another option on the eve of the game.

Berlin is approximately two hours away by train, with the cheapest return fare costing in the region of £50.

There is still hotel availability in the German capital at affordable prices, although that could change in the coming days.

Alternative forms of travel include a return trip on the Eurostar from St Pancras to Berlin with changeovers in Brussels and Cologne, which would involve all-day travel (approximately 11 hours) on the Saturday and Monday.

But prices for such a round trip are now approaching £700.

For those wanting to drive, it is a little over half that price to take Le Shuttle from Folkestone to Calais. But this does not account for the cost of fuel for what would be an epic 20-hour round trip by car across mainland Europe.

A return trip on the ferry from Dover to Dunkirk is even cheaper at £100 but, again, fuel costs could make it more expensive than flying.

Of course, on top of all this is the problem of getting tickets for a game that has long been sold out but could yet see some made available via returns.

Face value prices range between £80 and almost £850.

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