Furious fans stranded as tour operator cancels flights to final
MORE than a thousand fans were left stranded in Liverpool after a tour operator lost its landing slots at Kiev airport.
Worldchoice Sports was forced to cancel three flights from John Lennon Airport after a dispute with Ukrainian authorities over the size of its planes. Fans had paid up to £2,000 to get to the final.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko, the former world heavyweight boxing champion, said he had been trying to resolve the dispute.
Chris Bolland, who has supported Liverpool for 50 years, said: “I am gutted, to say the least.
“I am absolutely disgusted and there is nothing I can do about it.”
Asif Badat, 32, from Leeds, is also stranded with his match tickets. He said: “We were being given assurances about our tickets to Kiev and then suddenly the flights were cancelled. I’m now considering flying to Romania and driving 10 hours from there.”
In a further sign the situation may not be resolved, Liverpool FC offered to refund any fans who bought their tickets from the club and had expected to get a flight.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson yesterday posted a series of tweets updating fans on the situation.
Worldchoice Sports owner Shay Soni said last night: “We have never had an issue like this before.”