Virgin Australia's cabin crew caught Taylor Swift fever on Thursday, just hours before the global megastar's sold-out Eras tour Down Under.
Swifties are buzzing with anticipation as Taylor, 34, begins her highly anticipated Australian leg of the Eras Tour at the MCG in Melbourne on Friday evening.
The American singer traveled quietly into the country in the early hours of Thursday when her private jet was seen taxiing into Melbourne Airport, although the star herself was not seen.
Eager fans have been busily traveling across Australia to get to Melbourne for the first batch of shows, with the Swifties taking commercial flights amid the chaos.
And Virgin Australia cabin crew couldn't help but get involved as they made a flight announcement full of Taylor's lyrics after landing in Melbourne.
Virgin Australia's cabin crew caught Taylor Swift fever on Thursday, just hours before the global megastar's sold-out Eras tour Down Under
They were greeted with thunderous applause from fans as they made the humorous announcement while also thanking the passengers for choosing to fly with them.
In a video shared on Instagram by Nine presenter Catriona Rowntree, a member of cabin crew told passengers: “Thank you to everyone who chose to fly with us. It was really wonderful having you on board.”
As a special message to Taylor's fans, he added in a lyrical comment: “To all our Swifties on board, your wildest dreams are about to come true! Shake It Off in style on the Eras tour.”
Alongside the video, Catriona added a caption: “Swifties are taking over Australia! I bless your cabin crew for joining in the fun.”
According to travel agency Flight Center, not only are commercial flights overcrowded with Swifties, but others are also making a desperate attempt to charter their own flights to get to their shows.
“Commercial flights and accommodation are very expensive and we have even seen some travelers opting for a private charter flight to get to the concert,” James Kavanagh, Global Leisure CEO of Flight Center Travel Group, told news.com. ouch.
“While it may seem extreme, we are not surprised when people choose to fly privately through our charter airline AVMIN and we have had bookings for Taylor’s shows in Sydney and Melbourne.”
In a video shared on Instagram by Nine presenter Catriona Rowntree, the cabin crew made a hilarious announcement using Taylor's lyrics after landing in Melbourne
Flight Center has revealed that commercial flights from Brisbane to Melbourne for the February 16 show will cost approximately $569. The following week, the price drops dramatically to $118 on the same route.
With more than 600,000 tickets already sold, organizers are concerned about the estimated 15,000 fans who will attend the pop star's sold-out shows despite not having tickets.
Venues NSW have warned ticketless fanatics to stay away from Accor Stadium to prevent crowd control problems, The Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday.
A spokesman said fans who missed out on tickets shouldn't try to “soak up the atmosphere outside” as they probably wouldn't hear any songs anyway.
Meanwhile, Transport NSW general coordinator Howard Collins said the city was “preparing for the inevitable”.
“What we've found with other popular music venues where people don't get tickets, people just come along to soak up the atmosphere and you can only hold them back to deal with the rush,” he said.
“We are not encouraging fans without tickets to attend, but part of our contingency plan is to accommodate additional people traveling who do not have tickets.”
Taylor will play three shows at the MCG in Melbourne on February 16, 17 and 18 in front of 85,000 cheering fans before traveling to Sydney for four concerts at Accor Stadium
But despite warnings from the New South Wales government, businesses are set to roll out the welcome mat for all Taylor fans, regardless of whether they have tickets.
Taylor will play three shows at the MCG in Melbourne on February 16, 17 and 18 in front of 85,000 cheering fans before traveling to Sydney for four concerts at Accor Stadium on February 23, 24, 25 and 26.
Her flight (VJT993) from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Melbourne became the most followed flight in the world, with nearly 1,500 of her adoring fans following the journey across the Pacific.
She traveled in style aboard a Bombardier Global 6000, a luxury private jet that can carry up to 17 passengers, and was promptly escorted to her accommodation following her 12-hour flight.
The singer will have less than two days to overcome jet lag before she hits the stage for her first Australian show since 2018.