Glenavon spend night in Birmingham after two flights are cancelled

The initial flight from Belfast City airport due to leave at 17.20 on Tuesday was cancelled due to technical issues and they were then booked onto the next flight at 8.45pm.

However, the connecting flight from Birmingham to Iceland was due to leave at 9.30pm and was going to be held back to allow the Lurgan party make the connection, but just minutes before they boarded in Belfast they heard that because of bad weather in Iceland that Birmingham flight was also cancelled.

The team and fans will now be put up in a Birmingham hotel by Flybe who will also arrange for a special flight in the morning to bring them to Iceland.

“Once we heard of the importance of the team getting to Iceland we were going to hold the flight back in Birmingham,” said Andrew McConnell, director of communications Flybe. “However, because of bad weather in Iceland that flight too was cancelled. We will meet the team when they arrive here and bring them to a hotel and in the morning have chartered a much bigger plane, a 737, to make sure they get over for the game. It is hoped that flight will depart at 9.00am in the morning.”

Club chairman Adrian Teer said it had been very disruptive for the players.

“It certainly hampers our plans of being over in Iceland tonight to give the players every chance to prepare for this important first leg.”

Manager Gary Hamilton is already in Iceland having arrived on Sunday to organise training sessions ahead of the game with Hafnarfjordur on Thursday.