A UK man, who was flying to Northern Ireland from Portugal to meet his family, was astonished when he found out that he was the only passenger on the entire plane.
According to a New York Post report, 65-year-old Paul Wilkinson smelled something fishy when he saw no one else standing in line at the boarding gate for his Jet2 flight. He even asked the airport staff if there was a problem with the aircraft or if he missed any announcement regarding a delay or cancellation.
To his surprise, the staff denied any issue and called him a “VIP guest” as he would be the only person onboard.
Wilkinson was not convinced. “I thought they were having a laugh,” he told South West News Service. “I thought I was early or late. I kept thinking they were going to say my flight had been canceled.”
Wilkinson further said that once he boarded the flight, the cabin crew referred to him as “King Paul”, and it went on throughout the flight. "It felt like my own private jet," he told the outlet.
He got to pick his own seat – chose the usually high-priced front row – and even spoke to the captain before the plane took off for Belfast.
“I think it was a total one-off,” Wilkinson said, adding that he found out that the plane was supposed to carry holidaymakers from Portugal but “there was no one to come back”. “It was pure luck that I needed to go to Belfast,” he said.
Comparing his experience to a private jet, the sole passenger said, “Someone told me a private jet is in the region of £28,000 [Rs 25 lakh] and it’ll probably never happen again.”
The three-hour flight had only cost him $162 (Rs 13,000).
Wilkinson also got to skip the lines at both passport control and baggage claim as there was no other passenger. He told his experience to the staff working at passport control who couldn’t believe that he was the only one on the plane.
“It was just surreal. I went for a walk around the plane, I had a pick of the toilets,” he exclaimed.
A spokesperson for Jet2 later told SWNS, “We are delighted that Mr Wilkinson was able to experience our award-winning customer service in true VIP style.”
