Liverpool's Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has blasted easyJet as 'shameful' as the airline's prices for football fans travelling to next month's Champions League final in Madrid shot up overnight.
Mayor Rotheram is a Reds fan and was in the stands at Anfield - near Sir Kenny Dalglish - to watch his team pull off the most unlikely of victories last night as they booked a place in the Champions League final on June 1.
Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, he posted an image of a quote he had been sent for flights between Liverpool and Madrid with easyJet.
According to Mayor Rotheram's quote, the lowest fare would see fans fly from Liverpool to Madrid on Friday May 31, for a shocking one-way fee of £750.49, with a return flight on Monday June 3 coming in at £237.54.
That would mean fans paying close to £1,000 for flights alone - before considering the costs of hotels, a match ticket and spending money.
Tweeting, Mayor Rotheram said: '@easyjet hiking up prices by 683% for return flights to Madrid is quite simply profiteering from the passion of football fans.'
He added: 'This is nothing new but entirely shameful.'
Fellow twitter users were in agreement, with one calling the prices 'disgraceful' and another saying they were 'absolutely immoral'.
Fans have also been angered by the costs of hotel rooms in Madrid, with one stating that he had been quoted £598 for the cheapest room.
Responding to Mayor Rotheram's criticism, easyJet defended its position and said it has a 'demand-led' pricing structure and does not change its prices 'artificially'.
A spokesman said: 'As with all airlines, our pricing is demand-led, which means that as more seats are booked on a flight the price will rise so our fares start low and increase the closer it is to the date of departure.'
'We do not artificially increase ticket prices around sporting events, prices are led by a strong demand for some flights due to convenient scheduled flight times. We believe our fares remain competitive in comparison to other airlines flying around the same time.'