Flight taking Manchester United fans to Porto for Europa League clash cancelled after TEN hour wait at airport

A flight taking Manchester United fans to Porto for the Europa League clash on Thursday evening (October 3) was cancelled after passengers spent a gruelling ten hours waiting at the airport.

Excitable fans arrived at Manchester Airport for around 6am on Thursday morning, ahead of the match at the Estadio do Dragao, which kicks-off at 8pm.

The dedicated AlbaStar fan flight, booked by those heading to Portugal to watch United overseas, was originally due to take off at around 7.50am.

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However due to the first scheduled plane breaking down in Rome before flying into Manchester, passengers faced an initial delay, before being told a second flight had been organised to depart at around 2.30pm.

Passengers eventually boarded the plane, where they sat for a number of hours, before an announcement was then made that the flight would be cancelled. This is understood to have been because there were no landing slots available, meaning the flight wouldn't have made it to Porto in time for fans to watch the match.

Disappointed fans, some of whom spent over £500 per person on the journey, were then let off the plane back into Manchester Airport at around 4pm.

AlbaStar have been approached for a full statement.