Three air passengers have told how they were treated like 'rock stars' after they found out they were the only people on a British Airways flight for 150 people.

Laura Stevens, 34, and her friends Sarah Hunt, 35, and Laurie-Lin Waller, 33, were upgraded to business class, knocked back Champagne and took selfies in the cockpit on the two-and-a-half-hour flight.

The trio were due to fly back to the UK on the 5:20 p.m. flight from Gibraltar to London Heathrow on December 18 after enjoying a three-day break.

But it was delayed by three hours, so having checked in online they turned up late to the airport to 'stretch out' the holiday.

On arrival, they found passengers who arrived at the scheduled time had been squeezed onto an earlier flight.

Laura says they "felt like A-listers" as cabin crew ushered them into business class seats - having paid just 80 pounds for an economy return ticket.

Laura and Laurie, who are television producers, and Sarah, a lawyer, were also treated to a three-course meal and posed for selfies with the captain of the BA flight.

Laura, from Sutton, London, said: 'It was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience that we'll never forget.

"We felt like celebrities, especially when we were given Champagne - it was the best Christmas present ever, we couldn't believe how kind and lovely everyone was."

We were the only people in the departure lounge so staff let us use the executive suite, which is usually reserved for business flight passengers.

"Then we mentioned how we'd hoped to buy our family gifts at the airport, and staff opened shops so we could browse."

"It was as though we'd hired out the place just for us."

She added: 'The celebrity treatment continued on board when we were given front row seats and a private safety talk.

"The plane took off really quickly because it was so light, it felt like we were on a private jet."

"The cabin crew were laughing and even the pilot made an announcement stating he'd never flown a commercial flight with so few people."

On board, the pals were given unlimited Champagne - and say they got through ten mini-bottles between them.

They took videos and selfies on board and tucked into breaded chicken and potato salad with cheese, hot crusty rolls and chocolate pudding.

Laura recalled: "We put on our shades and had a great time partying on board. We joked about being a girl band and took videos of us strolling up and down the aisles."

"Cabin crew warned us that the fog meant it could take a while to land but we were having such a fantastic time we told them to take their time - we wanted the flight to go on forever."

When the flight landed, Laura and Sarah, who is from Gibraltar, and Laurie-Lin, from Glasgow, took selfies in the cockpit and say ground staff "couldn't believe' there were just three passengers aboard."

"Even strolling through passport control we felt like celebs as there were no queues. The whole thing was so surreal,' added Laura."

"People pay thousands for the kind of experience we had but we got it all for the cost of an economy ticket - it was a real one-off."

"We can't thank BA enough - they made our Christmas!"