Taiwan’s Songshan Airport has created an innovative way to experience travel for people who are missing the friendly skies. 

Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration created a “fantasy flight” to help people cope with the current travel restrictions as a result of the global health crisis.

More than 10,000 people applied for “tickets to nowhere” that offered about 60 lucky “passengers” a chance to go through check-in procedures and board a plane that never left the ground.

Like many other countries, Taiwan has been hit hard by restrictions on international travel because of the coronavirus. But some residents are finding comfort in boarding a flight that didn’t take off to take a trip down memory lane and plan for the day they can fly again.

The fantasy flight was organized by Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration to raise awareness of coronavirus prevention and control procedures to follow when passing through customs and boarding a plane at Taipei International Airport, as reported in Time Out.

And as with normal flights, they had to check in, obtain boarding passes and go through immigration and security procedures before being allowed on the plane.

“People who want to fly abroad have long been suffering,” said Wang Chih-ching, deputy director of the airport.

After taking their seats, the passengers — all wearing masks — were served food and drinks, participated in a pop quiz, and were treated to a good luck salute from fire engines that sprayed water. After they exited without the plane leaving the ground, passengers were given a demonstration about security by customs officials accompanied by a sniffer dog.

Wang said the fantasy-flight event and the publicity it generated will help future travelers better prepare for when international flights resume.