33 Saints fans plus Southampton FC CEO Gareth Rogers and club legend Kelvin Davis thought they were about to miss one of the biggest matches in the last 14 years when their plane got a technical fault.

When the 3.20pm Southampton to Manchester Flybe flight was cancelled yesterday afternoon due to a technical fault amongst the disgruntled passengers were 35 Saints supporters as well as Gareth Rogers and Kelvin Davis.

But just as they all thought they were going to miss what would turn out to be a magical night, Flybe came up trumps.

The airline who of course are former shirt sponsors of the club got a plane down from Edinburgh specially to transport the Saints contingent directly to Liverpool John Lennon Airport which although a destination for Flybe is not a route from Southampton presently.

Landing at 7.40 pm a bus was laid on to take the party straight to Anfield and they got into the ground just after the kick off. Although they had to take their luggage to the game rather than check into hotels etc, at least they were at the game and about to witness a classic night in the history of Saints.

Flybe’s Chief Operating Officer Luke Farajallah was the man behind this as he and his staff noticed the unfolding situation via social media and frantically made all of the arrangements to first find a plane, then a crew and arrange priority clearance at Liverpool Airport for the aircraft to land.

The airline themselves issued a statement

“Flybe regrets that the flight was delayed due to a technical fault with the aircraft and the subsequent anxiety this caused the many Southampton football supporters relying on this service to travel to Liverpool for this evening’s key EFL Cup semi-final.

“We can however now confirm that a replacement aircraft has been flown to Southampton to fly the supporters direct to Liverpool where it will be given priority landing at the airport. Flybe has also organised a coach to meet the aircraft and transport the fans immediately to Anfield. The aircraft departed Southampton at 1840 and Flybe is taking all possible steps to ensure that the supporters reach the ground as quickly as possible.

“Flybe sincerely regrets the inconvenience and hopes that the alternative arrangements it has put in place will ensure that Southampton supporters can watch the majority of this important match.”

Photo: Action Images

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