Lech Poznan Land in Faroe Islands After Two-Day Fog Saga as Uefa Pushes Klaksvík Tie to Friday
A Two-Day Race Against the Clock
Poland's champions Lech Poznan will play their Europa League second leg against the Faroese champions KÍ Klaksvík a day later than planned, after their journey to the Faroe Islands was severely disrupted by heavy fog.
Lech won the first leg 1-0 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 side had been trying to reach Vágar — the Faroe Islands' only airport — for two days in a row, with heavy fog repeatedly complicating their travel plans and leaving them scrambling nervously to complete the journey.
Standby, Holding Pattern and a Diversion to Bergen
On Wednesday, the squad were put on standby for several hours before their 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.
Uefa Delegate Moves Kick-Off to Friday
Both clubs initially insisted the match would go ahead on Thursday night with a later kick-off of 8.45pm, but a Uefa delegate later moved the game to 7pm local time on Friday night.
The drama drew a global audience: for a time, the club's flights were the most-watched in the world on the Flightradar tracking service, as thousands of Lech fans rushed to follow their odyssey.
The Warning That Visiting Clubs Are Given
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.
A Familiar Problem for Faroese Fixtures
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 — complete with a mock-up of a bus tracking service.