Travel during COVID19

Due to an illness in my family I had to fly during the pandemic.

And it was surreal.

On a normal very busy day, the airport was empty. Barely a person to be seen.

Only a couple of flights were scheduled and the gates were announced far apart, to allow social distancing.

Dropping off my suitcase, I did not know how to behave. There were marks on the floor, but no one seems to be caring. Protection were up for the employees, but how do you get your boarding pass to them?

At the end, the procedure was easy. You tried to stay out of their space and as much as possible behind the marks. When you had to drop of the suitcase, I did it without breathing out, and when she checked my passport, I forgot to take off the face mask (which I was wearing to protect her, just to be sure – I am aware of the fact, that this will not protect me).

I was wearing a facemark to be polite, even though I did not (and do not) have any symptoms, and to make the life of the employees at the airpot and on the plane less stressful. Some of the employees at check in, security and on the plane were wearing masks, some were not.

Going through security, the guards told me that I was inconsiderate and stupid and should have stayed home (would have love to, but my husband had to go to hospital). The same usually coming from the passenger making assumptions without knowing the story.

A lot of people were insecure on how to interact with other people, all kept their distance.

As soon as boarding started, all bets were off. You saw people in full gear, getting close to friends without a face mask and other passenger, even though earlier they made a point of staying away from everybody.

I have now lived through the pandemic so far in 2 countries.

I have to admit, that Germany is highly respected in the UK. But my experience is very different. I was told from friends (with whom I just talked via Skype) that they were in Ischgl and were home very ill, but were not tested. Neither by the doctors nor the German health agency and were told by their employer to not do it on their own, unless required by a hospital if they would be submitted.

On the street and in big supermarkets people did not care about social distancing. On the street, you had to be careful not be run over by couples walking side by side, as well as mothers with their strollers. From my experience only if it was a small shop and the owner told the customers how to behave and what to do, they followed the rules. Other than that – no.

In regards to human interaction – almost not existing. No calls to see how you are doing, or scheduled calls just for a “sofa crawl”. Maybe I do not have the friends I though I have.

In the UK the opposite. My experience (except mothers with strollers) people are considerate for other people, call each other up, mean the question “how are you?”. We have a lot of contact via FaceTime, Zoom, with different people (old friends and new ones).

My personal advice for travelling during this time:

• be considerate
• look out for the people around you
  you might be carer or they might – you do not know
  you do not know their story
• be kind
• take your time
• breath
• wear a mask
• wash your hands
• try not to touch your face