Rangers fans left stranded in Glasgow Airport for 10 hours due to charter flight issues- but ticket allocation for final boosted

Around 200 Rangers fans were left stranded in Glasgow Airport for over 10 hours yesterday after their charter flight to Spain encountered technical issues.

A large group of Light Blues supporters were supposed to fly to Jerez Airport, around 60 miles south of Seville, at 10.30am yesterday morning.

However, fans were still stuck in the airport terminal until around 8.30pm last night as they waited nervously to discover if their plane would take off.

The flight was reportedly chartered through Czech airline Smartwings, with supporters paying just under £1,000 each for a return ticket.

Once the plane did finally leave the runway, fans were told they were being rerouted to Malaga to leave ownward travel arrangements in the air.

With no direct train link from Malaga to Jerez, vehicle hire was also ruled out of the equation by fans who had been drinking in the airport.

A spokesperson for Glasgow Airport confirmed there had been a problem with the intial flight and another plane had been sent, causing the lengthy delay.

Another group of travelling Gers fans were left fearing their flights had been cancelled on Wednesday morning after the airport announced the 05.00 and 07.15 charter jets to the Andalusian captial would not take off.

Information displayed on the live departure board showed flights AEZ4252 and V33512 had been ‘cancelled’, while a message on the airport website read: “please contact your airline”.

However, GlasgowWorld understands the chartered flights will now leave from Prestwick Airport in South Ayrshire instead after staffing issues meant the route was changed.

Fans have also been stuck in huge queues amid a final exodus to Seville as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side prepare to take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League final at 8pm tonight.

Up to 20,000 Rangers supporters are expected to attend the match at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium after the club’s allocation was doubled in a late ticket boost.

The news comes after VIP’s, major sponsors and several clubs handed tickets back, which were later placed into a UEFA ballot last night.

58,000 fans will head to the Estadio La Cartuja on the outskirts of the city where a fanzone will be held, with the game shown on several big screens.

A further 10,000 will gather at the Rangers meeting point, the Plaza Alameda de Hercules, while others will pack out bars and restaurants in the city centre.

In Scotland, fans have been encouraged not to gather outside Ibrox Stadium or Glasgow’s George Square.

Club officials met with Spanish authorities in an attempts to avoid possible disorder - with 60,000 Frankfurt supporters also in Seville.