A desperate couple was forced to abandon their taxi in standstill traffic to reach the airport in time for their flight to Turkey. Dean Louca, 37, and his wife Gina, 39, were making their way to Luton Airport this week when their cab got stuck in congestion.

The London pair were travelling to catch a flight, but after roughly 20 minutes without any progress, they decided to take action – which involved abandoning their taxi. They got out of the car and started making their way to the airport by foot, trudging with their cases along the hard shoulder of the M1. Video footage captured by a motorist at the location shows the moment their urgent desire for an overseas break overcame them.

Dean said: “We decided the only option was to start walking, as we were concerned we would miss our flight. People were panicking in their cars, saying the same.”

Before long, other frustrated travellers followed suit, as they said others left their cars and participated in the trek, whilst fellow drivers encouraged them from their seats, reports the Mirror.

After the couple had been strolling for a brief period, one generous good Samaritan stopped and offered to drive both Dean and Gina to the terminal personally, ensuring they had a full hour to spare upon arrival.

Dean said: “If it wasn’t for him, we may have missed it.”

He added: “On the plane we could see the motorway was still at a standstill three hours later – it was crazy.”

The footage of the duo’s frantic journey to their getaway has now racked up over 450,000 views online and attracted considerable attention as people question their decision.

One user said: “Walking down the hard shoulder and motorway is illegal; you know that?”

Whilst another said: “Putting your lives at risk by walking down the hard shoulder for a holiday?”.

However, others were eager to offer their backing, posting, “Oh my God. So glad you made it.”

Someone else said: “I hope you have an amazing holiday after this.”

Meanwhile, an online trend, dubbed the ‘airport theory’, is taking social media by storm as holidaymakers set themselves the peculiar challenge of reaching their flight at the last possible moment.

TikTok clips feature passengers defying the conventional wisdom of arriving at the airport hours early, though many are reaching the gate only to discover they’ve missed their flight entirely. The idea sees travellers showing up merely 15-20 minutes before their planned departure time, equipped with hand luggage for added convenience, whilst trying to still catch the aircraft.

Some daring travellers have managed to board their flights without any issues, while others haven’t been so fortunate due to the tight timing.

An American TikToker, known as @momlifewithtiff, documented her travels back in February, when she and her husband nearly missed their flight because of the challenge.

She captioned her video: “Definitely do not recommend trying the airport theory. Will certainly be getting to the airport 2 hours early from now on.”