Celtic fans are ready for the exodus to Seville

Scotland's airports are gearing up to send tens of thousands of Celtic supporters to next week's Uefa Cup Final in Seville.

Prestwick Airport is drawing on its experience as the hub for last year's Champions League Final at Hampden, when it was responsible for getting thousands of German fans in and out of the country.

It is expecting 5,000 supporters to depart for Spain between Sunday and Wednesday, the day Celtic meet Porto in the final.

On that date the airport will see off many of the one day trips that Celtic fans have signed up to.

Crowd control

Prestwick says the check-ins will be open in the small hours of the morning for fans who hope to be in the Spanish sunshine in time for breakfast.

Glasgow Prestwick managing director, Tom Wilson, said: "We will easily handle an extra 5,000 passengers because that's the number who use the airport every day of the year.

Concern has been expressed over how well Seville airport will cope with the numbers of aircraft expected in the hours before the game.

Strathclyde Police said that it would be working with the force in Seville in a bid to make crowd control go smoothly.

The final will be held at the Estadio Olimpico in Seville

Earlier this week Superintendent Tim Love from London Road Police Office, who will spearhead the Strathclyde delegation to Seville, welcomed Spanish officers Lorenzo Faqes and Joaquin Torres to Glasgow.

The two men were impressed by the behaviour of Celtic fans at Wednesday's game against Dundee.

Lorenzo said: "We know Celtic have a very good reputation and that Scottish fans are very well behaved.

"We are extremely impressed with the fact that there are lots of families and children in the stadium.

"There is a nice feeling, a really good atmosphere within the ground."

Speaking through an interpreter, the officers said the people of Seville were looking forward to the big day.

Tight security

The officers explained that there will be a 50 metre cordon around the stadium and unless people have tickets they will not get anywhere near.

Security will be tight but fair, they said.

They warned that there no alcohol is allowed in the stadium and said that any fans who are clearly drunk will not be allowed in.

Flags will be allowed as long as the messages are not inflammatory and bagpipes and sombreros are more than welcome, they said.

The Foreign Office posted a special warning on its travel advice service telling fans to stay away from the Spanish city unless they already have a match ticket and accommodation reserved.

As many as 50,000 Celtic fans are expected to arrive in the city in the next week, at least half of whom will not have tickets for the game.