Flying in Times of Covid-19

The airports looked like ghost towns!

My journey began with a short internal flight to Vancouver before continuing across the Atlantic. Social distancing was taken very seriously on both Canadian airports and although the line for the security check stretched across the entire hall with a 2-meter distance between every person, the process didn’t take longer than normal. The only additional step there was measuring the temperature. One of the few jobs that were added because of the virus. On the other hand, more than half of the shops, restaurants and bars were closed. The ones that were open for service had only a few tables with one or 2 seats each available for guests on the move. Masks were of course mandatory everywhere and could only be removed while eating or drinking.

As I reached the waiting lounge for my flight, I quickly understood the plane won’t be crowded at all. Instead of the usual airport buzz with travelers chatting, children running around and passengers trying to find their little spot while waiting for the departure I was welcomed by nearly empty seating areas and complete silence. Where are the people?

The boarding was done in groups. Seat 25 to 30, then 20 to 24, and so on. I had a row of four seats all for myself. From my perspective I’d say it was an excellent flying experience but I wonder how the airline companies haven’t gone bankrupt yet with so little traffic.

The experience after landing in Germany wasn’t much different than the one in Canada. Before taking a seat in Starbucks in at Frankfurt’s empty airport hall, I had to fill out a paper logging my contact details and information about my flights. The paper landed in a small box by the bar – a little archive in case they must inform their clients about the potential contact with the virus. I guessed that the person deciphering the handwritings is probably underpaid but glad to have a job. While I do care about safety, I was still extremely happy to remove the mask after fourteen hours to enjoy my overpriced coffee and sandwich. Unfortunately, my mask break was abruptly cut short as I was rushed out of the café by the police along with two other guests. It turned out they found a backpack without an owner close by and had to evacuate the area.

I had a few hours to kill before hopping on another plane to Istanbul where I would transit to my last flight. Turkish airport was much busier and the departure gates were announced only 30 minutes before the start of the boarding. I guess the airport tries to keep the travelers in the main area with all the shops and restaurants so they can spend some money before continuing the trip. Everything was open here and definitely no social distancing, especially in front of the Wi-Fi registration kiosks. I decided to skip the hassle and rather enjoy a börek, traditional filo pastry filled with cheese. I’m sure the airport variation can’t compete with the one from a real Turkish restaurant but it was still better than any of the ones I’ve tried in Ljubljana in my student years there.

Soon I was on my way to the final destination. I'll show you some photos in the next posts, for now you can try find it on the map here. Can you guess the country?