A plane passenger has shared his experience of being the only person aboard an eight-hour flight from the UK to Florida.
TikTok user Kai Forsyth said it was the “weirdest experience” to be on the British Airways flight alone but “the comfiest” he has ever been on a plane.
He documented the journey in a video posted to the social media platform this week and since been viewed more than 200,000 times.
The short clip shows a completely empty plane, leaving Forsyth to pick any seat he wishes for the duration of the long-haul flight.
He chose a middle aisle and put up the arm rests to create a makeshift bed.
“Literally the comfiest I’ve been on a plane,” was his verdict.
As there were no other passengers aboard, he was also treated to an unlimited supply of snacks and food.
“They literally gave me all the snacks and unlimited food,” he said, showing a wholesale box of Walkers biscuits.
Forsyth said he had hoped to be upgraded to a business class seat as there were no other passengers on the flight, but sadly he was not offered the opportunity.
Responding to a TikTok user who said they would feel “too paranoid” on an empty plane, Forsyth said the journey was fun.
Some people also shared their own experiences of being on empty or near-empty flights.
“I remember the flight home from John F Kennedy International Airport [New York, US] to Gatwick, about 10 people [were in] the whole of economy. Was the best flight,” one person said.
Recent weeks have seen environmental groups urge the European Union to change policies which force airlines to fly thousands of “ghost flights” – empty flights with no passengers on board.
Under EU regulations, airlines must operate a certain percentage of their scheduled flights to maintain their take-off and landing slots at airports. If they don’t, they may forfeit the slots.
Last week, Belgian magazine The Bulletin reported that Brussels Airline operated 3,000 empty or near-empty flights this winter to avoid losing slots at major airports.
The airline’s parent company, Lufthansa, operated approximately 18,000 flights in total.
The practice was denounced by climate activist Greta Thunberg, who wrote in a tweet: “The EU surely is in a climate emergency mode…”
