Travel While COVID

My flying experience during the pandemic

I’m literally writing this story in my hotel room. My trip is not over yet, however, so far I’m enjoying it.

I travel a lot for work. I used to hop on a plane at least three times a month. My last trip, however, was in January 2020. In February, my company decided to ban all travels and to switch all of our meetings to online meetings. By the end of February, it was home office time.

I’ve stayed in home office from End of February to early June — I was not too fond of it.

With the internet and Microsoft teams, it felt that we are collaborating and working together as usual. Our projects went on, we held the typical meetings with our clients, and everything went smoothly. I, however, missed traveling.

People usually hate airports; they are crowded, a lot of securities, the food has a premium price tax, and people aren’t in the airports — Airports bring the worst in us. I was not a fan of airports as well; I was addicted to changing the scenery around me.

Even if my plane ride was only 45 minutes to the Netherlands, once you set foot in Schipol International Airport, you are in a different world, a different language, a different Starbucks menu, awesome Dutch waffles, and many more. When I travel for work, I do not have the time to go on a sightseeing tour. My days will be filled with meetings from 8 am to 7 pm. After that, it is time to answer some emails before falling asleep.

I got so used to this lifestyle that it became part of my identity. I identified myself as someone who travels a lot, whether it is for work or pleasure. And since February 2020, I wasn’t able to travel at all — I slowly became depressed. It did not matter if I woke up and started working in my boxers shorts, or if I put on a suit and a tie. My problem wasn’t with home office, my problem was with the lack of flying and traveling.

Europe started lifting flight restrictions slowly, and people now can travel again. I was hesitant to fly at first, but then I got the courage and decided to fly for the first time since January 2020 — And it is fantastic, the new normal at airports is perfect for me, and I hope it stays like this.

The minute you arrive at the departure airport, you are asked to put on your mask and to use disinfectant gel to clean your hands. At the security check, people are away from each other, and no one is breathing down your neck. People are respecting your personal space for the first time in an airport.

During boarding, people are also respecting social distance guidelines. Planes are boarding zone-wise so that people at the rear are seated before people in the front. Masks are still on; we are only allowed to take them off during eating or drinking.

For the first time ever, people are respecting my personal space in an airport.

Upon arrival, people remained seated until the row in front of them was empty first. People are not racing for the ultimate goal of arriving early at the baggage claim; people were focused and interested in keeping social distance.

Overall, I loved this travel experience, and tomorrow I fly back. I will undergo a COVID test upon arrival (not mandatory for my case), and until the results are out, I’ll self-quarantine in my office in my home. Flying, however, while COVID is so far my best flying experience.

Walid Al Otaibi -WAO- is a top writer in Gaming. He works at an engineering company in Germany as a Project Manager. He comes from a multicultural background and is located in Germany since 2003. He is writing about Arab Culture, Multiculturalism, Finance, and Trending topics.

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