Air Travel During COVID-19: What’s Changed?
6 new things that you should know!
A week ago, I travelled for the first time since February, before COVID-19 hit hard. I went for interstate travel in Australia, from Queensland to South Australia. It was an interesting experience, although it’s not as comfortable as before.
A lot of you might be wondering, what it feels like flying right now? What’s changed? Here’s my experience with the “Flying Kangaroo”, a.k.a Qantas.
1. Socially distance queueing
In all areas of the airport, they highly advised you to maintain 1.5-metres social distance, whether you are queuing for check-in, baggage drop or boarding. Since Airport is one of the most vulnerable places of the virus transmission, it’s not a surprise the social distancing culture was highly implemented.
2. Boarding by rows
Traditionally, you will be called to board through the gate based on the class that you are in. Now, they will call you based on your seating row. For example, row 1–5, 6–10, 11–20 and more. The reason is to reduce the number of people queueing on the line, so the 1.5-metre social distance can be maintained.
3. Scan your boarding pass
Normally, one of the airport staff will help you scan your boarding passes Now, you have to do it all by yourself. Simply, scan your boarding passes to the scanner, just like scanning a product barcode in a supermarket. You can use either a print-out version of the boarding pass or even from your mobile phone.
4. Goodbye headphone pack, hello face mask pack!
It is highly recommended for all passengers to wear a mask at all time, from departure to arrival. If you don’t have any mask, don’t worry. They will give you a complimentary face mask pack, with hand wipes inside it. Make sure that you wear it throughout the flight, except when you are enjoying your in-flight meal.
5. Simplify in-flight meal
The in-flight meal depends on how long the flight is. On my short-haul flight, they served a banana bread and a bottle of water. They temporary suspend any drinks or alcohol service at this point since it considers less hygienic than a bottle of water.
6. Post-flight police check
When you travel interstate, you have to fill out a declaration form. Likewise, I filled out a declaration form by the state government of my previous travel history and reason for travel. It is recommended that you fill this form 12 hours before departure and you don’t want to leave it to the very last minute. If you don’t fill this form until you arrive, you will be temporarily put on hold to complete the form and wait for the confirmation that takes a few minutes.
When you completed, you will receive a reference number and called by the police for screening. They will ask you a few questions to match the details that you filled in and check your ID. If you are all good, they will put you as “UNRESTRICTED”, which means that you don’t need to self-isolate yourself for 14 days before arrival.
It sounds a little intimidating, however for the sake of everyone’s safety, this is the best thing that could happen. So if you are planning to travel interstate, take care and remember these changes that you need to be aware. Safe travels!
To end on a high note, here’s a photo that I took on my flight.
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Christopher Reno Budiman is a writer, explorer and entrepreneur-minded person. He received Bachelor of Business (Hospitality Management) and Bachelor of International Hospitality Management with Swiss Hotel Association accreditation. He’s on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn if you would like to know more about him.