Travelling during the pandemic
Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger (Pexels)
Today is the first time in months ever since the pandemic started where I get the chance to travel again. Again, due to publishing timetables, I travelled in December but am only publishing about it now.
It has been quite some time ever since the last long trip travel. Frankly, in my books, this is a rather short journey since I am used to long haul cross-continental flights at this point, but it was pleasant still.
Travelling during corona times comes with a lot of additional precautions one need to pay attention to. During pre-covid times, it is just standard procedure to pack the bags and apply for visas if necessary, before departure but with corona one also has to check any entry regulations for the travel destination and their according foreign travel advice even for the countries you only pass through. If one needs to take a covid test (which one if yes) and arrange it, quarantine rules and any entry form that needs to be filled out. Not going to lie but the pre-departure arrangements are a hassle since the rules and regulations can change anytime and one must adjust and rearrange accordingly.
Enough about the entry regulations and let´s go back to pre-departure rituals. First up, packing. Before you can even start packing you need to check with the airline what luggage can and can´t be used. Size matters when it comes to discount airlines since they are very precise.
Once the baggage is chosen comes the frustrating part, the packing of the luggage. Since I know how many pieces of clothing I wear over a week, I can roughly estimate how many clothes I need to bring. However, I sometimes would convince myself to bring backup clothes as well. The problem, however, is that I, no matter what, always bring too much. That is just frustrating because the unworn clothes take up valuable space in the luggage.
Personally, I find it easiest to pack the right amount if I have a list. It makes sure I don’t overpack or end up forgetting something essential. However, if you do end up forgetting, don’t worry since you can just buy at the travel destination even though it may be frustrating.
When travelling I also have a tendency to bring items I nearly finished or want to throw away. That just makes packing on the way back way easier since there is more space in the luggage.
At the end of the day just pack lightly and follow airline regulations and it will work out fine. A tiny trick I have picked up over the years is to pack clothing into travel organizer bags since it makes everything easy to find and make the luggage look neat.
After packing comes documents and dollars. Exchange the money necessary with a little extra to the required currency if necessary. Make sure to bring your passport, ID, tickets, and travel insurance. It would not hurt to bring along a list of emergency names and numbers just in case.
Due to personal preference, I always preferred to have any vital documents printed out. Any ticket, visa, forms, etc... in paper form. It is not that I don’t trust my fully charged phone to function properly, but it just gives me this unexplainable sense of security knowing that I have a backup. At the end of the day even if both my phone and the paper printout fail, I am sure that I will find a backup on my laptop, no matter how unconventional that may be.
The day before the flight, I make sure to get enough sleep since I know how clumsy and disoriented, I am when I am tired and worn out. Well, I went to sleep early because my flight was early. If you have a flight in the evening, then you don’t have to worry too much about sleeping in.
On the day, I wake up with time to spare and have a decent breakfast. One thing I did forget is to pack a small snack for the flight and bringing any drinks to the airport is just useless since one can never bring more than 100ml of liquid onto a plane (bringing large quantities of liquid in the luggage is a different story.)
My flight was as mentioned early, and I had to get up pretty early according to my standards. Seriously 4 am is early for anyone but unlike most times, I was not getting out of bed sleepy. Quite the opposite, I was actually quite thrilled despite the fact that I had to wake up that early.
In true student life fashion, I took the bus to the airport because conveniently there was a bus going straight to the airport right outside my front door (technically not directly but still). Since it was early, the bus was really empty. Not ghost town empty but in-comparison-to-normal-hours empty.
Just like the bus, the airport was pretty empty as well. My guess is COVID and the early time both contribute to the emptiness of the airport. Funnily enough, I liked the emptiness because there were no long queuing times and no bumping into people.
From my first impression walking into an airport after two years of being grounded, it didn’t seem like the pandemic is still in continuation. Nothing seems to have changed at the airport in the wake of the pandemic. Sure, there are more people with masks since masks are mandatory and disinfectant dispensers are spread around the airport but nothing much.
After walking into the airport terminal comes the check-in desk navigation part. One just got to find the right check-in desk. If you are lost just take a look at the navigation signs. To my surprise, I found the check-in counter without a queue in front of it. Even the check-in counter personnel seem a bit bored. In no way am I saying that there was no queuing at all since I did see a check-in counter from another airline with a rather long line in front of it but in comparison to pre-covid Christmas time, that queue was nothing.
The check-in process was similar to the check-in to pre-covid times, where the airline personnel would ask for your passport, destination and luggage. In addition, however, they would also ask for a negative covid test, vaccination certification and passenger locater form (as required by the UK government). With or without the covid restrictions, the check-in process just seems so familiar.
Following the check-in comes the security check. Again, besides the mask mandate, nothing much has changed at the security check. It helps to remove any jackets, belts and hats while waiting in line. Emptying water bottles, putting 100ml liquid bottles at the top of the bag and keeping electronic devices in easy to reach places would make the security check less stressful. Besides that, keep any knives or scissors in the check-in luggage and don’t even think about bringing illegal items to an airport or anywhere else.
Another one of the many tricks that help me all the time is bringing a nearly empty bag. Only put essentials in the bag because one never knows when the space can come into use. For instance, I have a tendency to shove jackets I can´t be bothered to wear into the bag once my journey starts. Another reason for bringing empty bags is that one will find what they need quicker.
Security checks are a breeze when one comes prepared and follows the instructions of the security personnel. There is no need to be overwhelmed since if you are confused or disoriented just ask the airport staff or look at the instruction’s signs.
After the security check comes in my opinion the most intimidating part, the passport check. After the x-rays and metal detectors come the part where you have to try your level best to look like the person depicted and be like the person described in your passport.
Nowadays there are two ways passport checks can happen either electronically or socially and honestly I am not fond of either option. In no way am I saying that passport control is not important but it is just more intimidating than the security check.
Anyone under the age of 12 would not be able to use the electronic gate and has to have their passport check done manually. To be frank, there is nothing to worry about especially if you have nothing to hide. You just need to hand your passport to the person behind the counter and answer simple questions. After that, you are free to go.
The other option is the electronic passport control gate and it is basically just like the manual check but instead, you just need to place your passport on a scanner. Remove any face-covering including masks, glasses and hats. Look into the camera, try to look like yourself and if the machine identifies the person in the passport and you are the same person, you are free to go. The electronic gate facial recognition system is not as bad as I expected so it went pretty well.
From experience electronic gates are always faster than the manual check since in front of the manual check is always a queue and the controller is not as fast as the machine. Normally, there is no queue in front of the electronic gate because surprisingly a lot of people either don’t want to use it or are not eligible to use it.
Nevertheless, I still prefer the manual passport check option since if the machine does not work as intended then you still have to queue for the manual passport control. Therefore it was always most strategical in my opinion to go to the manual control and save the embarrassment of not being recognized as the person in your passport by a pretty decent machine. Besides queuing during corona when you are not in a rush is not as bad as anticipated.
After the endless controls, you can finally relax and do some duty-free shopping. Even though the items in duty-free are tax-exempt, they are still very expensive and when I did some price comparisons, they are not necessarily cheaper than the items in normal life. Not saying it applies for every duty-free item since a lot is cheaper but some are not so that is something to watch out for.
If you are done with all the shopping or you just could not be bothered, your next step is to find your gate. The airport has a really simple floor plan and there are maps and arrows everywhere showing where you are and where you should go to get to your gate.
At the gate, there are always chairs in which you can wait for your flight to board. However, before you board that plane, you want to use the bathroom since plane bathrooms are normally really cramped and sometimes really dirty. If you do decide to go to the lavatory, do remember to take your personal belongings with you. It is not smart to leave any personal belongings unattended in public spaces.
Then it is just a waiting game. You have shopped to your heart’s desire, ate to your stomach´s appetite and explored the airport´s amenities to your mind´s content. Now you can only sit and wait for your plane. In the meanwhile, you can listen to music but do remember to listen to announcements since they often contain very important information about your flight.
When it is time to board, get in line and when it is your turn give your ticket to the flight attendant at the gate who scan the ticket and wish you a pleasant flight. Sometimes it could be that a security guard is checking the passports again at the boarding gate so don’t put away your passport just yet.
On the plane, find your seat and try not to stand in the aisle too long since a commercial plane is not known for being spacious and the more time you spend blocking the aisle the more time people behind you will take to find theirs. Therefore, once you found your seat, just put the big carry on bags in the overhead compartments and place smaller bags under the chair in front of you. During corona, it is likely that the plane is half empty so there might be the possibility that you have a row to yourself but no guarantee.
Once you board the plane and are seated in your seat, you can calmly pack away your passports and tickets, fasten your seatbelt no matter how unnecessary that may seem and take out your in-flight entertainment whether it is a book or your tablet. With electronic devices do remember to switch on aeroplane mode.
Before take-off, the flight crew will make a few announcements. It is in your best interest to pay attention even though it might seem boring to you since you are a frequent flyer.
During take-off, your ears may feel a bit blocked and that is completely normal. As a child, I always hated that feeling so whenever we would travel by plane I would always bring a pack of gum to combat that uncomfortable feeling in the ears.
Once in the sky, you are free to do whatever you want with your time, just don’t disturb the other passengers. However, in case of turbulence follow the flight crew´s instructions. In case you have any questions just ask the flight attendants.
Soon enough you will arrive at your travel destination and the crew will make some announcements again, but they are not as important as the safety instructions during take-off.
When the seatbelt sign is not on anymore you are free to unfasten your seatbelt, stand up and pack up your stuff. However, when it comes exiting the plane, I never was in a rush since first pushing around to get out is just uncivilised and second, there is no point in shoving around since it is very likely that you will see the people who exited the plane first at the luggage carousel again. So, sit down, prepare your passport and wait, there is no rush.
Once you do manage to get out of the plane, you will make your way to the passport control… again. Even though the way may be long from the plane to the control, it is very unlikely you will get lost. Follow the signs and your fellow passengers.
After the passport control comes the luggage carousel. Find the right carousel and wait for your luggage to appear on the conveyor belt. And then you are done. Go to the exit and you arrive at the arrival part of the airport. Take a taxi, rent a car, wait for a friend.
Do remember to do the covid test if any are required by the government and quarantine if necessary. At the end of the day, travelling during the pandemic is just like travelling before the pandemic with just a few more regulations and precautions.