Ryanair has put on 15 extra flights for Ireland World Cup play-off Czechia. The draw placed Ireland against Czechia in the play-off semi-final on 26 March 2026 with a home draw for the final against Denmark or North Macedonia on 31 March.
Prices rose spectacular for the single daily flight to Prague after the draw was announced, as did Aer Lingus prices form Dublin and Cork. Travel Extra editor Eoghan Corry outlined there were several one stop options available to soccer fans as well as flights to Berlin which is four hours form Prague by train.
The venue remained undecided for the away match in Czechia but the available stadiums are around 20,00 capacity. Ireland hosted the final if they advanced from the semi-final. The draw occurred at FIFA headquarters in Zurich on 20 November 2025.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary denied the airline was price gouging: “We have a daily flight to Prague. All the remaining seats on those daily flights on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were all sold out. We have an extra 15 flights going out to Prague and returning from Prague that week. Now, the reality of those flights is that the returns are empty. If we really wanted to price-gouge people, we would’ve added one or two extra flights. We added 15 extra flights. The extra flights that we have from Dublin going to Prague in the three days before the match will all come back empty. And it’s a two-and-a-half-hour flight.
“The extra return flights on the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday that we have to bring fans back from Prague, those outbound flights to Prague will be empty. So, yes, the fares are higher, but people have to understand that it is cutting the cost of what is basically empty legs.
Jade Kirwan shared: “Ryanair has added 3,000 extra seats between Dublin and Prague for Irish soccer fans travelling for the Ireland vs. Czech Republic World Cup play-off on 26 March. We expect these extra Ryanair seats to sell out fast, so don’t miss out, head over to ryanair.com now to book your flight before they’re gone.”
