What’s the longest you’ve ever waited in an airport for a flight? I, for example, once had an eight hour stop-off at Rome airport while waiting for a connecting flight to Tokyo. On another occasion, I got to an airport in South East Asia about 14 hours before my flight was due to take off after a mix-up with timings. This resulted in me achieving the unprecedented clean-sweep of breakfast, lunch, and dinner at exactly the same airport. Have I, though, ever spent 47 years of my life waiting for a flight? The answer to this question is “No. No I have not.”

Now, put yourself in James Lloyd’s shoes. James Lloyd, you see, was searching for cheap flight deals on Skyscanner when he spotted something that would make the eyes of most men pop out of their heads like they do in the cartoons. As part of a deal to get Lloyd from New Zealand to UK, Skyscanner offered a package that included a connecting flight in Bangkok. The catch being that there was a 413,786 hour wait between landing in Thailand and flying to the next stop-off. 413,786 hours, if maths isn’t your strong suit equates to roughly 47 years. Yes. 47 years.