BBC charters private plane to fly presenters to Kiev for England match

PA

The BBC privately chartered a plane to fly presenters Gary Lineker, Mark Lawrenson and Alan Hansen to tonight's England game in Kiev.

The Daily Mail reports that the team of presenters made the trip from Warsaw to Kiev yesterday.

They had previously been covering the tournament from Manchester, before taking a chartered flight to Poland on Friday.

A BBC spokesman said that the private charter was necessary because there was a shortage of seats on scheduled flights, and claimed that it was saving licence payers' money because it cut down on accommodation costs.

Interest in flights to the Ukraine soared after England won its group stage of the tournament on Tuesday.

Website CheapFlights reported an 800 per cent increase in enquiries in the three hours before, during and after England's win over Ukraine.

Even the cheapest flights, involving a stopover in other European cities, cost around £400, and yesterday, the Football Association's official tour operator Thomson Sport chartered an extra plane for its £649 per person, 24-hour trip for the quarter-final after the original package sold out.

If they manage to secure a flight, England fans can buy tickets to the quarter-final from Uefa's official website for as little as £33.

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