- Quote: ‘They told me to make myself at home. They all found it quite funny and treated me like Royalty’
By Andrew Atkinson
Flying Solo! – Nadina Liu was the only passenger to board a plane at Alicante-Elche Airport in a flight to Liverpool John Lennon Airport on a 189 seater Boeing 787-800 jet.
“I was told I was the only person on the flight – I thought it was a joke, but it wasn’t,” said Nadina, who was returning to the UK after visiting Benidorm.
“It was a lovely feeling being on the plane by myself – with five cabin crew to look after me.
“It felt a bit like a private jet, although I have never been on one before,” said Nadina, 28, who said she was treated like Royalty.
Nadina, who arrived at Alicante-Elche Airport after holidaying in Benidorm with two friends, said: “I got to the boarding gate and found nobody else there.
“I got a bit worried thinking I had gone to the wrong gate, so I asked the woman on the desk if I was in the right place for the Liverpool flight. She said I was.”
Nadina, who paid £50 for her flight, said other passengers booked on the flight may have delayed their return home until July 19, or later, to avoid having to quarantine for 10 days.
The new rules for ‘Freedom Day’ which came into force on July 19 meant vaccine doubled-jabbed adults or children under 18 returning from amber-listed countries, that includes Spain, no longer have to isolate.
Anyone flying home before midnight (July 19) would have had to quarantine under coronovirus health and safety guidelines.
Nadina, who has had only one Covid-19 vaccine jab, would still have had to quarantine, even if she had flown home later.
Nadina from Litherland, Merseyside, married with two children, Lexi 8 and Jamie, 5, who boarded the Ryanair evening flight on July 17, said: “I had gone out to Alicante with my friends on the same flight, but they were staying for ten days.
“I had only booked a five day break – so I could get home to my family.
“I work from home as a test and trace call agent, so it was not going to be much of a problem for me to quarantine.
“I had the seat number 18A, but when I got on the flight, I was told that I could sit where I wanted – I picked a seat with more space at the front.
“The five cabin crew were really friendly – one told me that it was the first time she had been on a plane with one passenger in her 15 years with Ryanair.
“They just told me to make myself at home and to ask if I wanted anything at all. They all found it quite funny and treated me like Royalty.
“There was the usual pre-flight safety demonstration, but it was performed just for me as I was the only passenger.
“The cabin crew included a young lad training. One of the pilots came and said ‘hello’ before take-off. It was all very personal and a great level of service.”
Nadina added: “Apart from there being no other passengers, it was just like a normal flight, with the usual tannoy messages from the flight deck.
“I chatted to the crew and kept myself occupied scrolling through my phone.
“Upon arriving at Liverpool I went down the steps on my own to the tarmac, and a member of staff met me and led me into the terminal.”
Caption: Nadina Liu flew solo from Alicante-Elche on return to Liverpool after holiday in Benidorm.
