A group of Icelandic Blues were given the VIP treatment as budget airline PLAY landed in Liverpool for the first time.

Everton defender Nathan Patterson was on hand to welcome the inaugural flight from Reykjavic, which touched down at John Lennon Airport on Friday morning.

Aboard were a handful of Nordic Everton fans, who were stunned to see Patterson greet them with Club scarves and a warm handshake following their 2,000-mile round trip to Merseyside for Sunday’s home clash with Manchester United

Nathan said: “It was a real pleasure to meet the Icelandic fans. The passion of all of our supporters never ceases to amaze me and, as a team, we’re in awe of their incredible support.

“It’s very humbling that fans travel such distances to follow the team, and so it was nice to be able to let them know how much we appreciate that.”

An airport spokesman added: “We really appreciated Nathan coming along this morning. The Icelandic fans were absolutely delighted to meet Nathan and the welcome they received.”

Icelandic airline PLAY provide a twice-weekly direct service from Liverpool to Keflavik International Airport in Reykjavik, with seamless onward connections to New York, Boston and Washington DC.