A passenger who boarded a flight at Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL) has been given free flights for life.

Winner Kechi Chima Apakama boarded the PLAY airlines flight to Keflavik International Airport (KEF) for a trip in Iceland with two friends to play American Football.

During the flight on February 17, 2023, passengers were given gift bags, prosecco, cakes and told they were all in with a chance of winning a golden ticket.

The cabin crew then announced that PLAY’s one millionth passenger was booked onto the flight.

Passengers were told that the lucky millionth customer would be given free flights for life with the airline.

When the flight landed in Iceland Kechi was targeted by staff and told that he was the winner of the prize.

He received a hero’s welcome with balloons and given a coat and hat from well-known Icelandic brand, Cintamani, to use on all his upcoming adventures.

Kechi and his two friends, who were both in on the surprise, were then driven off in a Cadillac full of treats and prizes to enjoy during their vacation playing sport.

Kechi will be able to take flights with PLAY for the rest of his life to any destination the airline travels to.

“I want to thank each one of the one million guests who chose to fly with PLAY and the PLAY team for delivering our award-winning service,” said CEO Birgir Jónsson. “Reaching one million passengers is a huge milestone for a new airline that only 18 months ago was facing a global pandemic and unprecedented travel restrictions.

He added: “While I’m sure this is a big deal for Mr Apakama, it’s a huge moment for PLAY.”

PLAY carried 800,000 passengers in 2022 and expects passengers to be 1.5 to 1.7 million in 2023.