Insight into the Champions League Qualifiers R1 travel - 9-10 July 2019

9 July 2019

Qualifying proper for the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League will get underway on Tuesday, with some teams having to travel a long way for their first round ties:

Süduva Mariampole vs. Red Star Belgrade

EUP421 BEG 1000-xxxx KUN E145 F-HBPE (08/07/19)

JU9060 BEG 1025-xxxx KUN (08/07/19)

Ararat-Armenia vs. AIK Stockholm

MLT723 ARN 1100-xxxx EVN B735 (08/07/19)

FC Astana vs. CFR Cluj

AXY0717 OTP 1445-2230 TSE B735 9H-YES (07/07/19)

Sarajevo vs. Celtic Glasgow

ENZ593 GLA xxxx-1905 SJJ BA46 (08/07/19)

ENZ594 SJJ 0000-xxxx GLA BA46 (10/07/19)

10 July 2019

Ferencvaros Budapest vs. Ludogorets Razgrad

BUC1945 VAR 1100-xxxx BUD (09/07/19)

BUC1946 BUD xxxx-0255 VAR (11/07/19)

Slovan Bratislava vs. Sutjeska Niksic

YM2252 TIV xxxx-1340 BTS E190 (09/07/19)

Valur vs. NK Maribor

KLJ1125 MBX 1000-xxxx KEF B735 (09/07/19)

KLJ1126 KEF xxxx-1720 MBX B735 (11/07/19)

UEFA CL Qualifiers, R3 return leg, 14 August 2018

14 August 2018

With the UEFA Supercup being played on 15 August 2018, all Champions League qualifiers this week are being played on Tuesday, 14 August 2018:

Spartak Moscow vs. PAOK Saloniki

AZI120 SKG 1125-1430 VKO B463 SX-DIZ (13/08/18)

AZI121 VKO 0200-0505 SKG B463 SX-DIZ (15/08/18)

Shkendija vs. FC Salzburg

TDR9036 ZAG xxxx-1215 ZSG F100 (13/08/18, ferry flt)

TDR306 SZG 1300-1445 SKP F100 (13/08/18)

TDR307 SKP 1100-1250 SZG F100 (15/08/18)

Spartak Trnava vs. Red Star Belgrade

JU3620 BEG 1100-1205 BTS B733 (13/08/18)

BATE Borisov vs. Qarabag Agdam

AHY5237 GYD 2000-2230 MSQ (12/08/18)

Dinamo Zagreb vs. FC Astana

GZP147 ??? xxxx-0930 TSE B737 RA-73004 (12/08/18, ferry flt)

GZP147 TSE 1100-1240 ZAG B737 RA-73004 (12/08/18)

Malmö FF vs. MOL Vidi

AEH981 MMX 1100-xxxx BUD E145 (13/08/18)

AEH982 BUD xxxx-0130(+1) MMX E145 (14/08/18)

Fenerbahce vs. SL Benfica

GNJ57 BHX 1430-xxxx LIS B752 SX-RFA (12/08/18, ferry flt)
GNJ57 LIS 2015-xxxx(+1) IST B752 SX-RFA (12/08/18)

AEK Athens vs. Celtic Glasgow

BRO37A GLA 1515-2115 ATH B733 G-TGPG (12/08/18)

UEFA CL Qualifiers, R2 return leg, 31 July - 1 August 2018

31 July 2018

Hapoel Be'er Sheva vs. Dinamo Zagreb

Taking a comfortable lead of 5-0 into the second leg, Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb travel to Israel in the knowledge that not that much will actually happen. They will probably already focus on their third round tie, against either Midtjylland or FC Astana:

OU8350 ZAG 0900-1310 TLV A319 (30/07/18)

OU8351 TLV 0110-xxxx ZAG A319 (01/08/18)

Spartak Trnava vs. Legia Warsaw

Despite Spartak Trnava having flown from/to Piestany the week before, Legia Warsaw prefers to use Bratislava Airport for its arrival to Slovakia, arriving on Monday over lunchtime with a LOT EMB-170:

LO7631 WAW 1200-1315 BTS E170 (30/07/18)
LO7632 BTS 0905-xxxx WAW E170 (01/08/18)

1 August 2018

FC Basel vs. PAOK Saloniki

The Swiss runners-up will play their return leg against their Greek counterparts on Swiss national day, 1 August at St Jakob Park. PAOK Saloniki will arrive with one well-known Jumbolino:

AZI120 SKG xxxx-1315 BSL B463 SX-DIZ (31/07/18)

AZI121 BSL 1350-xxxx SKG B463 SX-DIZ (31/07/18, ferry flt)

Malmö FF vs. CFR Cluj

SVB312 OTP xxxx-1840 MMX E145 (30/07/18)

Midtjylland vs. FC Astana

RRJ233 TSE xxxx-1225 BLL A319 (30/07/18)

MOL Vidi vs. Ludogorets Razgrad

FB5737 VAR 1020-xxxx BUD (31/07/18)

Süduva Mariampole vs. Red Star Belgrade

JU3680 BEG 1000-xxxx KUN B733 (31/07/18)

HJK Helsinki vs. BATE Borisov

BRU8931 MSQ 1100-1215 HEL CRJ1 (31/07/18)

UEFA CL, play-off return leg, 22-23 August 2017

The ten remaining participants of the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League were decided over two days with five matches each night. It was another round that brought about some notable charter flying, with TSG Hoffenheim travelling to Liverpool accompanied by a lot of supporters and Celtic Glasgow going very far towards the East, playing away at Kazakhstan's champions FC Astana.

22 August 2017

Sevilla CF vs. Istanbul Basaksehir

Sevilla sat on what seemed a comfortable lead from the first leg, but Basaksehir came twice within on goal of reaching the Champions League for the first time in their young club history. A 2-2 draw meant Sevilla reached the group stage, while Basaksehir played on in the Europa League.

TK3381 IST xxxx-1330 SVQ B738 (21/08/17)

TK3382 SVQ 0100-xxxx IST B738 (23/08/17)

HNK Rijeka vs. Olympiacos

The hosts had only managed to turn around the first leg fixture in the second half and thanks to an injury time goal by Romao they took a 2-1 lead onto the road. In Rijeka's nice stadium setting, they made no mistake however. Former German international turned journeyman Marko Marin scored one more goal for Olympiacos who thus reached the group stage.

AEE4010 ATH 1100-xxxx RJK A320 (21/08/17)

FC Astana vs. Celtic Glasgow

There could have been no doubts about the outcome of this tie. The first leg at Celtic Park had ended with a thumping 5-0 victory for Celtic who had already eliminated Linfield from Northern Ireland and Norwegian champions Rosenborg BK in previous rounds. Astana gave it a good whack, leading 4-1 at one point, but would still have required another three goals from there. The final result of 4-3 meant that Celtic went on to play in the Champions League. Aeronexus' Boeing 767-300/ER was their aircraft of choice for the long flight to Astana.

ARN01A GLA 1400-xxxx TSE B763 ZS-NEX (20/08/17)
ARN01A TSE 0200-0245 GLA B763 ZS-NEX (23/08/17)

OGC Nice vs. SSC Napoli

The Italians proved just one step too far for the Nice team coached by the Swiss Lucien Favre. Napoli had won the first leg at home 2-0 and went on to win in Nice by the same result.

TDR308 NAP 1700-1815 NCE F100 9A-BTD (21/08/17)

23 August 2017

Liverpool FC vs. TSG Hoffenheim

In their biggest match to that date, the upstarts of Hoffenheim faced Liverpool at Anfield Road, and seemingly played up the hill. Liverpool decided to not only defend the lead from the first leg, but to build on it. Within 20 minutes, Liverpool were three goals ahead and finally won the game 4-2, advancing to the Champions League group stage. It was the beginning of big things for Liverpool, who went to play in two successive finals of the competition. Hoffenheim played on in the Europa League, but finished last in their pool.

The game is remembered for a rare occurrence of a Lufthansa Airbus A330-300 that was called upon to take supporters across the channel, to Manchester in this case. There was a considerable number of other supporters flights too, with Eurowings' A320 and some corporate jets related to TSG Hoffenheim's owner.

LH342 FRA 1130-1215 MAN A333 (22/08/17)

LH343 MAN 1345-1625 FRA A333 (22/08/17, ferry flt)
MHV1899 MHG 1240-1340 LPL D328 D-CIRJ (22/08/17)
EW5218 FKB 1025-1130 MAN A320 (23/08/17)
SCR064 ??? xxxx-1145 LPL C525
D-CMHS ??? xxxx-1240 LPL C25B
D-IWPS ??? xxxx-1255 LPL C25A
MHV200 ??? xxxx-1430 LPL C25A D-IMHA

EW5219 MAN 0320-0615 FKB A320 (23/08/17)
MHV1899 LPL 0945-xxxx MHG D328 D-CIRJ (24/08/17)

LH342 FRA 0945-1030 MAN A333 (24/08/17, ferry flt)

LH343 MAN 1200-1440 FRA A333 (24/08/17)

A Lufthansa Airbus A330-300 arriving at Frankfurt in 2009. Only rarely have such aircraft been used for sports charter duties. 

FC Kobenhavn vs. FK Qarabag Agdam

The champions of Azerbaijan counted on Azerbaijan Airlines as usual for their trip to Copenhagen. At the Parken, they were determined to defend their 1-0 lead from the first leg at home and did well. Dino Ndlovu scored their very important away goal after a bit more than 60 minutes. They may have lost the game 2-1, but still qualified for the Champions League.

AHY5015 GYD 1730-2045 CPH A319 4K-8888 (21/08/17)

CSKA Moscow vs. BSC Young Boys

90 minutes were up in the first leg, when Young Boys' Kasim Nuhu turned a scoreless draw into a win for CSKA by virtue of scoring a slapstick own goal. The task proved too tough for the Swiss vice-champions once again, but at least the next season, they would finally make the cut.

2L6652 BRN xxxx-1740 SVO E190 (21/08/17)

2L1653 SVO 1915-xxxx BRN E190 (21/08/17, ferry flt)

FC Steaua Bucharest vs. Sporting CP

FCSB would have been hopeful after a first leg without any goals on either side. And at home they had a good start against Sporting, only to concede a first goal after 13 minutes. They managed to equalise the game soon after that, but in the second half, the floodgates opened seriously. Sporting won 5-1 and qualified for the Champions League.

PVG7991 LIS 1400-2130 OTP (21/08/17)

UEFA CL, Q3 return leg, 1-2 August 2017

2 August 2017

FC Kobenhavn vs. Vardar Skopje

OK6720 SKP 0915-1325 CPH (01/08/17)

BSC Young Boys vs. Dynamo Kiev

WRC7737 KBP xxxx-1145 BSL E145 (01/08/17)
AZI171 KBP xxxx-1255 BSL BA46 (01/08/17)

WRC7738 BSL 1230-xxxx KBP E145 (01/08/17, ferry flt)
AZI172 BSL 1330-xxxx SKG BA46 (01/08/17, ferry flt)

AZI171 SKG xxxx-1015 BSL BA46 (03/08/17, ferry flt)
AZI712 BSL 1100-xxxx KBP BA46 (03/08/17)

WRC7737 KBP xxxx-1100 BSL E145 (03/08/17, ferry flt)

WRC7738 BSL 1145-xxxx KBP E145 (03/08/17)

HNK Rijeka vs. FC Salzburg

2L1912 ZRH 1130-1215 SZG F100 (01/08/17, ferry flt)

2L8912 SZG 1300-xxxx RJK F100 (01/08/17)
2L8913 RJK xxxx-1145 SZG F100 (03/08/17)
2L1913 SZG 1230-1315 ZRH F100 (03/08/17, ferry flt)

Rosenborg BK vs. Celtic Glasgow

ZT7601 GLA 1455-xxxx TRD (01/08/17)
TDR285 GLA 0630-0955 TRD
TDR286 TRD 2330-0055(+1) GLA

Dinamo Minsk vs. Slavia Prague

QS4652 PRG 1340-xxxx MSQ B738 (01/08/17)

Legia Warsaw vs. FC Astana

HY3565 TSE 1200-1300 WAW A320 (31/07/17)

Olympiakos Piraeus vs. Partizan Belgrade

JU3512 BEG 1135-xxxx ATH B733 (01/08/17)