Ryanair cancel special soccer charter

Ryanair last night cancelled a special passenger charter to Spain for Shelbourne Football Club's return leg soccer match against…

Ryanair last night cancelled a special passenger charter to Spain for Shelbourne Football Club's return leg soccer match against Deportivo La Coruna, "due to disappointing bookings".

Shelbourne FC had recommended fans not to book seats on the flight, branding it "definitely not a bargain" last week.

The offer followed Shelbourne's success in holding the Spanish team to a nil-all draw at Lansdowne Road.

The Dublin team is now due to play the second leg return match against Deportivo in the UEFA Champions League.

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The flight, intended to leave Dublin at 9.50 a.m. next Tuesday - on the morning of the match - and to arrive in Santiago de Compostela at 1 p.m., was to have cost €299 plus taxes.

Santiago, the capital of the northwestern province Galicia, is 76 km from La Coruna, home of the Spanish team's stadium, the Municipal de Riazor. Passengers would have had to arrange transfers to the match.

The airline's head of communications, Mr Paul Fitzsimons, said the special passenger charter had been planned on condition there were sufficient bookings.

"However, we have been disappointed with the uptake, and have consequently cancelled the flight. Those passengers which had booked will be given full refunds".

He said the airline was, however, "delighted" that the team itself would be flying on an aircraft chartered from Ryanair.

"Ryanair is already Europe's most punctual airline, and we'll be pulling out the stops to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible for the lads on the trip," he said.

Kitty Holland

Kitty Holland

Kitty Holland is Social Affairs Correspondent of The Irish Times