Liverpool, Man City and Man Utd among Premier League clubs facing airline travel chaos

Premier League clubs are facing travel chaos after a major flight operator suspended its operations.

The top six giants - including Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and the rest - have all used Jota Aviation for domestic charter flights to get to and from games.

However, Jota has suddenly stopped operating leaving top-flight clubs in the lurch and facing huge extra cost or trying to find alternative ways to travel. Jota are reported to have gone into administration. Clubs routinely use luxury private planes from select airports - often using private terminals - within England to get to Premier League games with United even flying to Leicester and Arsenal taking a 20 minute plane ride to Norwich

Jota operated all of the domestic flights for the top six leaving clubs furious and angry at the sudden shutdown with no warning as one source said: “This has created one hell of a mess. There’s been no warnings or communication, it’s outrageous.”

It means clubs are facing a scramble to get alternative travel - but Brexit is in danger of blocking those plans for domestic travel. Travel experts say you can only use British registered planes for domestic flights and teams will either have to use bigger planes because smaller flights will not accommodate players and staff or make last minute plans to travel by coach or train instead Top bosses like Pep Guardiola or Antonio Conte put huge store in the importance of well organised travel, putting plans in place weeks in advance. And this sudden development has left clubs firmly in the lurch ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.

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United’s former executive vice-chairman left