As the 2018 World Cup approaches it’s last few matches, the tournament has already provided everyone with a summer that they’ll never forget.
With England unexpectedly set to battle for their place in the finals tomorrow night (Yes it’s coming home,) what do you do if the match clashes with your holidays and you find yourself at 37,000 feet during the game?
Well fear not. According to the Telegraph, for only the second time in FIFA World Cup history, passengers have been able to watch all the matches live whilst in flight. Airlines offering this free service on channel Sport 24 include Emirates, Air Italy, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Qatar AIrways, HongKong Airlines and Etihad.
Emirates spokesperson, said, ‘Emirates has been screening all 64 matches on board its aircraft with live TV so that sports fans do not miss a single moment of football’s most anticipated event.’
After winning against Columbia, a video of Emirates passengers celebrating England’s win went viral reaching over 2.5 million views. Uploaded by Laddawan Cherry Kateann, the clip shows football fans cheering and singing after Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier scores in penalties, sending England through to the quarter finals of the tournament.
Most of the UK based budget airlines have been keeping their passengers up to date with in-flight announcements. An EasyJet spokesperson said, “Passengers will receive the latest scores via announcements made from the flight deck who will be provided with updates from the airline’s Operations Control Centre at its Luton Head Office base.”
They continued, “The scores will be relayed by the crew to passengers who wish to know. However, for those who wish to catch up with the action after they land and don’t want to know the score, there will be a spoiler alert ahead of any announcement.”
Full list of airlines that offer channel Sport 24
1. AeroMexico
2. Emirates
3. Etihad
4. Air Italy
5. AeroMexico
6. ANA
7. Garauda Indonesia
8. HongKong Airlines
9. Lufthansa
10. American Airlines
11. Qatar Airways
12. Turkish Airlines
13. WestJet
