Writer and Liverpool fan Paul Wilkes has been stopped dead in his tracks in his plan to go and watch the Champions League Final. He explains all ...
I set off yesterday with the intention of witnessing Liverpool’s eighth European Cup final. Like many supporters, it was always going to be a long and arduous task of arriving in Kyiv.
However, I certainly didn’t expect not to get past Manchester Airport departure lounge. The journey was supposed to see me visit Frankfurt, Mainz, Cologne, Ankara and then the Ukraine before a return trip which took in Istanbul and Berlin.
My Ryanair flight from Manchester was initially delayed for 30 minutes, but it eventually become over five hours. To make matters worse, it wasn’t even landing in Frankfurt-Bonn but diverted to Frankfurt-Hahn.
This meant that I was due to arrive in Hahn around midnight local time and three hours by an expensive taxi ride away from my next flight at 3am. Aviation rules apparently state that I could take the next flight available if late, but flights to Champions League final destinations in Eastern Europe are few and far between.
All trains naturally cease through the night, so it meant that I would be grounded in Frankfurt until at least the morning. I could have potentially reached out to fans travelling via vehicles to the encounter, albeit an almighty long shot.
One option was to stay the night in Frankfurt airport and get the train to Dortmund. There was still a flight available for £250 to Kiev, although at this stage there was no guarantee that the Ryanair flight was definitely leaving Manchester.
It was a risk I wasn’t willing take after spending eight hours looking at a so-called flight information board. The airport staff were also unwilling to help me in my aim of watching the Reds potentially win a sixth title.
With stories of other cancellations and trouble in the host city, I decided to cut my losses with the hope of heavy compensation. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, as I was offered a match ticket from a current Liverpool owned player that also won’t be travelling.
It wasn’t a completely wasted journey as I met two darts players and top blokes on their way to exhibitions and tournaments. John Bowles was the only player to ever achieve a ‘Robin Hood’ in the World Darts Championship and as a result is a YouTube sensation.
John’s a Manchester United season ticket holder and he certainly didn’t gloat given my unfortunate circumstances. He and his friend Jack (a Kop season ticket holder) made the wait less excruciating along with several pints of San Miguel.
So, I won’t be witnessing Liverpool’s first Champions League final in 11 years in the same country. However, I do get to see my wife and kids early and will watch the match with close friends, so it’s not all bad.
What should have happened ...
Leave my home in Staffordshire at around 11am Thursday and arrive in Kyiv at 12:30pm local time on Friday. The drive to Manchester will be followed by a flight to Frankfurt and then a short train ride to Mainz, where Jurgen Klopp played and started his managerial career.
A few German lagers later and it’s another train alongside the Rhine River up to Cologne for an early morning flight to Turkey. A few hours in Ankara will be followed by another plane to Kiev.
The return jaunt will see an extra flight from Ankara to Istanbul thrown into the mix on the way to Berlin before I eventually find my way home on Sunday night. With an early morning check-in at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport, we will certainly be hoping it doesn’t go to extra-time and penalties with the Ukraine two hours ahead of the UK.
