If Liverpool football fans were nervous as their team nearly blew a four-goal lead in the Champions League semi-final, spare a thought for the owner of Myriad Travel.
Tiffany Woodley had just risked thousands of pounds chartering a flight for the final in Kiev – before Liverpool eventually clinched the tie against Roma last Wednesday.
Woodley signed a deal with JTA Travel at half-time during the second-leg match, at which point Liverpool were 7-3 ahead on aggregate and seemed a safe bet to go through. That was before they let in three late goals.
However, the Reds clung on to win the tie 7-6 on aggregate, ensuring Myriad’s risk paid off, with the £830 return airfares selling out within hours.
Woodley described watching the nail-biting semi-final as the most nerve-wracking moments of her career, having signed with JTA to charter the return flight.
Recalling Roma’s fightback, she said: “It was sickening. I have never taken a risk like this in my business, but so many people were asking if we would do it.
“We were just so relieved when Liverpool won.”
After the game Woodley, who is on the shortlist for Leisure Manager of the Year at this year’s Agent Achievement Awards, booked a second charter flight.
The independent agency teamed up with high street rival Crown Travel to split the sale of the 300 seats on the two flights.
“The phones went crazy and it was hard to keep on top of it all. It was unprecedented. We had tweets, Instagram and Facebook messages,” Woodley said.
“We had so much fun and it created a real buzz. People were saying ‘are you the girl who can pull white rabbits out of the hat?’”
Woodley’s staff will be at Liverpool airport on May 26 to send fans on their way with cookies, drinks and travel packs including wristbands with an emergency number.