Newcastle United fans left counting the cost of Covid-19 postponement

The club’s fixture away to Southampton yesterday was postponed due to Covid-19 cases and injuries following a request to the Premier League.

United had sold out their 3,300-ticket allocation for the fixture at the St Mary’s Stadium, and a club statement read: “Newcastle United once again thanks the respective clubs and the Premier League for their cooperation and understanding.

"The club also extends its sincere apologies to supporters affected by both postponement, and asks them to retain their tickets.”

Some supporters were left having to foot the bill for non-refundable travel and hotel bookings.

A number of fans had non-refundable tickets for a Loganair flight back to Newcastle from Southampton after the game.

The airline’s Covid-19 policy only allows for bookings to be put on hold – or transferred to another date – without a fee in the event of the passenger being forced to isolate.

A spokesperson for Loganair said: “Loganair operates a flexible Covid-19 policy which enables customers who have contracted the virus or have been forced to self-isolate to put their bookings on hold or transfer them to another date.

“We appreciate Covid is continuing to cause severe disruption to people’s lives, and are doing everything we can to work through this while providing the crucial connectivity required by our regions.”

Loganair, which was an “associate partner” of United last year, will transfer flights to a new date for a fee of £40, but the Premier League is yet to announce a new date for the Southampton fixture. Fans can claim back taxes – less a fee of £25.

By contrast, supporters with advance train tickets booked with LNER were able to request a credit note to the value of their booking through the rail operator’s Covid-19 “book with confidence” policy.

Newcastle’s December 30 fixture away to Everton was also postponed after head coach Eddie Howe was left with less than the 13 senior outfield players needed for the fixture to go ahead.

The club’s next game is this Saturday’s FA Cup third-round home tie against League One side Cambridge United.

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