A dad was gobsmacked when he turned up at the gate for his flight to discover he was the only person boarding the Jet2 plane.

Paul Wilkinson, a project manager from St Annes, Lancashire, claims he was called a “King” by cabin crew who treated him as though he was on his own private jet.

In what would be a dream for many of us, Paul got the VIP treatment while aboard.

READ MORE: Plane passenger is only person on 8hr flight and gets spoilt rotten by cabin crew

The dad was flying to Belfast from Faro, Portugal, on March 30 to meet up with family.

However, he began to feel panicked when he got to the airport gate and found there were no other passengers around.

It’s unusual to see no queue whatsoever when your flight announces it’s last call so his nerves were understandable.

Paul, 65, asked airport staff if his flight was delayed or cancelled, but they informed him he was set to fly in style as the only passenger booked on the flight.

Paul said: "It was like being on my own private jet. Someone told me a private jet is in the region of £28,000 and it'll probably never happen again.

"There was no one at the gate which I thought was strange. I spoke to the stewards waiting to take the passports and they said 'oh Mr Paul, you're VIP today. You're flying on your own'.

"I thought they were having a laugh. I thought I was early or late. I kept thinking they were going to say my flight had been cancelled.”

The dad hopped onto a double shuttle bus alone and was able to select any seat on the plane to sit in.

Paul noted: "All of a sudden, they said my bus would be along in five minutes. I thought it was surreal.

"I expected a massive amount of people to come running but they didn't.

“The bus turned up and I got on a double shuttle on my own, just the driver and me.”

He then claims he was treated like royalty by the flight attendants who nicknamed him King Paul for the duration of his journey.

The lucky holidaymaker was able to stretch out on the front row and even chatted to the captain before the flight took off.

Paul commented: "It just didn't seem right. I thought any minute they were going to say it was cancelled and there'd been a massive mix up.

"The cabin crew were smiling, they kept calling me King Paul.

“I asked if they were joking but they said I had the plane all to myself, I could do what I want, ask for what I want.

"The service was second to none.

“They did a one-on-one safety demonstration, we took photographs and the captain came out and had a chat with me.

"I jokingly asked for a refund on my seat, which I paid for. It was just surreal.

“I went for a walk around the plane, I had a pick of the toilets."

Paul had paid just £130 for his three hour flight and says all three cabin crew were at his “beck and call”.

Plus, he got to sail right through at passport control and the luggage carousels.

Paul said: "My suitcase came round on its own because I was the only one in baggage reclaim.

"It was superb, they were at my beck and call, I'm spoilt now. Next time I'll be asking how many people are on the plane."

Paul was heading to Belfast from a golf holiday in Portugal to meet his wife, Deborah, 52, for a funeral.

Paul said: "The wife said she was cramped up on another flight and I was on my own private jet.

"I think it was a total one off.

“They'd taken holidaymakers to Portugal and there was no one to come back and it was pure luck that I needed to go to Belfast.

"At passport control they couldn't believe I was the only one coming off the plane, three of them did my passport, one checked and one stamped, it was all in good spirit."

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A Jet2 spokesperson said: "We are delighted that Mr Wilkinson was able to experience our award-winning customer service in true VIP style.

"Our outbound flight to Faro from Belfast International was particularly busy with lots of happy holidaymakers heading off to the Portuguese sunshine."

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