Arsenal fans are now busily making travel plans to see their team play Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest on May 30 – pricing for flights and hotels has already skyrocketed [OD Pictures-CC BY-SA 4.0]

SOARING costs set by “profiteering” travel operators are causing dilemmas for Arsenal fans who want to travel to Budapest for the Champions League final later this month.

Arsenal advanced to the final of the competition for the first time in 20 years this week, after a Bukayo Saka goal was the difference-maker in Tuesday’s cagey showdown against Atletico Madrid.

A carnival atmosphere washed over the Emirates as the players stayed on the pitch to celebrate with the fans, many of whom were already plotting how they would make the journey across Europe, come May 30.

Travel operators were one step ahead, however, and pricing for both flights and hotels has skyrocketed in the instant aftermath of the victory.

Speaking after the game, Arsenal’s midfield maestro Declan Rice said: “Budapest, I want every Arsenal fan there – 200,000 of you, come out!”

But fans will now be scratching their heads on how to sidestep the extortionate costs to arrive in the city in time for the match.

At the time of writing, the cheapest direct return flights to Budapest will now cost Arsenal fans over £700, a steep increase on their usual price.

A week later, for example, a return flight on the same airline costs just £52.

And then there is the ticket. Arsenal have been allocated 16,824 tickets for the final – the prices starting at £155 and rising to over £900 for the highest category.

It is not the first time “dynamic pricing” models, whereby costs are dictated based on demand, have affected Arsenal fans.

Drew Gray, the chairman of the Arsenal Independent Supporters’ Association (AISA), said that although he was delighted that Arsenal had reached the final, he was unsure whether many fans would even be able to consider it, due to the “profiteering” approach of travel companies.

He added that a similar dynamic pricing model prevented him and many other fans from travelling to Lisbon last year to support the Arsenal Women’s team in their own Champions League Final.

Mr Gray told the Tribune: “It’s this kind of profiteering in football that just trickles down the line and makes the whole thing too expensive for ordinary fans to go. The ticket prices are already ridiculously expensive but then it’s the transport companies and the hotels and everything within the city just following suit and exploiting the market.”

Options that cost less than a direct flight will need fans to have time at their disposal. One coach operator, Coach Innovations, is promoting a £339 return from London. The journey will involve a 34-hour drive through France, Belgium, Germany, Austria to arrive bleary-eyed in Hungary at 12pm on game day.

Getting there is not the only challenge. A search on Booking.com shows hotel rooms for two adults in the city range between £1,500 and £9,000 on the night of the final.

Another option being explored by fans is to fly to a nearby country and then take a train or coach to Budapest. Flights to Prague, for example, are cheaper than flying direct, but will mean fans may spend over 13 hours on the road.

Mr Gray said that expensive tickets, flights and long journeys had become part and parcel for any fan willing to travel abroad to see their club: “There’s a sense within the industry that football fans will put up with anything. It’s been getting worse for a long time, we get treated badly wherever we go and are then expected to pay these ridiculous prices for everything, it’s a joke.

“Lots of Arsenal fans are having to juggle with whether to book their transport now even though they might not get a ticket to the game, or risk waiting until the prices have gone up even more.”

He added that a colleague at AISA was debating “bike-packing” to Budapest, a journey that would take four days but may be one way to make the journey affordable.

The Tribune has collated a number of alternative travel methods for those thinking of making the journey, but unsure on the best method.

The quickest journey – a two-hour private jet for four people – will cost £20,700 for a return.

In contrast, those with little money but lots of time may want to consider walking – although this would mean a journey time of 15 days with no sleep, and an added £50 expense for a ferry to France.

Arsenal last played in the Champions League final in 2006, a night remembered painfully by the fans as they lost to Barcelona in extra-time.

Those embarking on the 34-hour coach ride will hope that this time, they have more to smile about on their way home.

Hungary calling: Supporters’ options for big match

• Direct flight Gatwick-Budapest return: £750 2hrs 30mins

• Return flight to Prague: £290 + 7hr train £115.44

• Return flight London-Bratislava: £343 + 2hr 20mins train £37.75

• Return bus London Victoria-Budapest: £123.98 (33hrs each way)

• Walk 14 days 23hrs continuous + no sleep (ferry Dover to Calais): £50 return ferry

• Lime bike 4 days 2hr: £523.90 each way + ferry £25 each way

• Private Jet: £20,700 return. Up to six people