Fog and on time (nearly): Lech Poznan reach Faroe Islands for fixture after two-day trip
Lech Poznan will have to play their Europa League second leg against KÍ Klaksvík within hours of landing in the Faroe Islands after their travel was disrupted for two days by heavy fog
Poland’s champions Lech Poznan will have to play their Europa League second leg against the Faroese champions KÍ Klaksvík on Thursday night within hours of landing in the Faroe Islands after their travel was disrupted for two days in a row by heavy fog.
Lech won 1-0 in the first leg in Poznan thanks to a late goal from Ivorian striker Yannick Agnero, but on Thursday they were locked in a chaotic race against time to reach the islands for kick-off.
The Polish team have been trying to reach Vágar – the Faroe Islands’ only airport – for two days in a row, but heavy fog complicated their travel plans and left them nervously scrambling to complete their journey.
On Wednesday, the squad were put on standby for several hours before the flight was called off due to poor weather conditions at the destination.
They boarded the plane again early on Thursday morning – with the club’s social media prematurely celebrating that they were “cleared for takeoff” – only to then be kept in a holding pattern off the west coast of Norway for 40 minutes before diverting to Bergen.
After another few frantic hours in Norway and further discussions with Klaksvík and Uefa, Lech made a last-ditch attempt to cross the Norwegian Sea with just hours to go before the original kick-off time.
Lech eventually departed Bergen on Thursday afternoon, just over four hours before the original kick-off time, and landed at Vágar just before 3.30pm local time. Both clubs confirmed the match has been pushed back to 8.45pm to accommodate the late arrival.
Their flights were for some time the most watched globally on the Flightradar tracking service as thousands of Lech fans rushed to follow their odyssey.
KÍ Klaksvík usually advise visiting teams to arrive two days before the game to factor in potential weather disruptions. They also encourage clubs to fly with the Faroese national carrier, Atlantic Airways, given their experience in landing in tricky conditions. Three of the airline’s planes landed on the island on Thursday morning before the weather conditions worsened again. Lech, however, chose a private charter service, Comlux.
The Faroe Islands are notorious for difficult weather affecting visiting teams. Two opponents of another Faroese side playing in the Conference League, NSÍ Runavík, were also hit by delays this summer, forcing late matchday arrivals.
NSÍ Runavík are set to play FC Lugano this afternoon, after the Swiss team arrived well in advance on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Lech’s domestic rivals, Legia Warsaw, mocked the champions’, taking to social media to advise their next league opponents, Radomiak Radom, to plan their travel well ahead and use public transport, with a mock-up of a bus tracking service.