One plane, two clubs: Celta and Alaves share flight for La Liga weekend

Social media user @jordibatlle on platform X uncovered an intriguing detail ahead of this La Liga matchday - a single aircraft transporting both Celta and Alaves for their respective fixtures.

The plane in question is the CRJ200 – a model designed for short and medium-haul flights – which also suits sports teams due to its limited seating capacity (usually fewer than 50 seats), making it easier to fill and thus more cost-effective.

In this case, Iberia's CRJ200 EC-HEK has added a curious twist to the weekend, serving as a round-trip carrier for both Celta Vigo and Alaves. According to Jordi's thread, prior to the weekend, the aircraft had been operating regular short- and medium-distance commercial routes such as Leon-Palma de Mallorca, Bilbao-Valencia, and Santiago-Bilbao.

On 18 April, the plane began its footballing weekend. Departing from Valencia, it flew to Vigo to collect the Celta squad. The Galician side were due to face Barcelona on Saturday, arriving in the Catalan capital the day before at approximately 19.55 CEST. They went into camp that evening ahead of the clash, which saw them narrowly defeated 4-3 by Hansi Flick's team.

On Saturday 19 April, while Celta were preparing for their match, the plane used its idle hours to fly from Barcelona to Vitoria – to collect its second passengers of the weekend: Alaves.

The aircraft then transported the team from Vitoria to Seville, touching down at approximately 17.43 CEST. By then, the Barcelona-Celta match had already reached 3-3 before Raphinha's late winner.

Just half an hour after dropping Alaves off in the Andalusian capital, the CRJ200 EC-HEK took off again for Barcelona, landing there at 19.4 CEST1. Barely an hour later, it departed for Vigo once more. After returning Celta home, the plane made its way to Madrid, where it is typically cleaned and prepped for the next day.

On Sunday, 20 April, the aircraft will be making the most of its downtime with two regional flights – Madrid-Castellon and Castellon-Madrid – while the Sevilla-Alaves match takes place. As scheduled, it will then carry Alaves back home, with the return flight from Seville expected to depart around 22.15 CEST.