A Lithuanian Man Was The Only Passenger On Flight To Italy

A man from Lithuania has achieved something that we all dream of every single time we're forced to fly on a plane: He had the whole aircraft to himself.

Yes, there was to be no crushing and queuing to board the plane, no queues outside the toilets, no tedious waiting for the trolley to reach you with its tiny cans of overpriced lager.

It sounds like heaven.

This dream became a reality for Skirmantas Strimaitis when he boarded a Boeing 737-800 - an aeroplane that is ordinarily meant to carry up to 188 passengers - and realised that none of the other tickets had been sold.

In fact, he was the only person in the whole place that wasn't employed in some way by the airline. There were five crew members, two pilots and him. Bliss.

Stretch out, Skirmantas, my boy.

So, how did this even happen? Surely it's not worth flying if only one ticket has been sold?

Well, the Lithuanian travel agent, Novaturas, had chartered the flight out to the Northern Italian city of Bergamo in order to pick up a plane-load of tourists on their way back from their holidays.

In order to not make flying out there to get them a complete waste of time, money and effort, they sold one-way tickets for the journey out from Lithuania to Italy.

Only one bloke bought one, our man Skirmantas.

He was off to Bergamo in order to enjoy a skiing holiday himself but got an added bonus when he realised that he'd also be travelling in style with five crew members to personally attend to him.

The flight between the Lithuanian capital Vilnius and Bergamo takes more than two hours. That's a damn sight longer than most of us would spend being waited on by five people. Hopefully he had some time to get a few beers down his neck during the flight.

After his flight, Skirmantas told the Associated Press that the flight was 'a once in a lifetime experience'.

Well, he's certainly not wrong there. Imagine how badly he'll come crashing down to earth - possibly a poor turn of phrase - the next time he is forced to get on a crowded Ryanair just like the rest of us.

Maybe he'll do so with the wry smile of someone who has known what it is like to live in the lap of luxury.

Lucky boy.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Interesting, travel, Weird

Tom Wood

Tom Wood is a freelance journalist and LADbible contributor. He graduated from University of London with a BA in Philosophy before studying for a Masters in Journalism at the University of Salford. He has previously written for the M.E.N Group as well as working for several top professional sports clubs. Contact him on [email protected]

@TPWagwim