Flying during the pandemic: My Expereince
I recently booked a short trip out to Denver from Chicago to get out and enjoy the great outdoors for a few days, and at first I was pretty nervous about the prospects of going to the airport and getting on a plane. Currently, I am writing this while sitting in the middle seat of a pretty booked flight, so you could say that the flight itself is operating normally. Surprisingly, I have felt normal about the whole experience today, too, which is a relief. Here are my thoughts and feelings in getting to the airport and onto the plane.
First, I took public transportation in Chicago to get to the airport, using bus and train. This has felt like the most dangerous spreading part of the trip so far — the close quarters and realizing that who knows who has touched or coughed on what in this car / train, though 98% of people I encountered were wearing masks. However, I had taken a bus or train several times in the last few weeks so I wasn’t too phased, and wearing a mask made me feel pretty protected.
Arriving at the airport didn’t feel too out of the ordinary, besides the lack of people which has been a huge plus of the whole experience. The second thing that was immediately reassuring was the percentage of people wearing masks — of the estimated 300 or so people I saw in the terminal, there were only 2 I saw not wearing masks, so less than 1% (both rude people talking loudly or facetiming while walking through the tight terminal walkway — those people are always going to exist, but *eye roll*). The third reassuring part was, again, my own mask wearing which has made me feel pretty safe throughout. I thought that having to wear a mask nonstop for 4 hours would have been a lot more annoying, but honestly it has not been a nuisance and you get used to it after about an hour. After that, it starts to feel like an extension of your face.
I was most worried about the quality of the air in the airport and plane, and the amount of surfaces that are vulnerable to having the virus. Getting to the airport, I was worried I would just feel unclean being in the terminal. That has turned out not to be the case at all — the terminal was well air conditioned and the air seemed to be moving around fine. The lack of crowds made the space feel more large and open as well, which was nice. Also, there are bathrooms all over the place to dip in and wash your hands frequently. Regrading surface touching potential, there is no doubt that is the most dangerous part of the whole experience — you just don’t who has been there right before you or how well a surface has been sanitized when you encounter it. Even the seemingly innocent act of playing with your seatbelt strap while in your seat should probably be avoided. However true, I just haven’t felt like surface touching has been a huge deal considering that I am wearing my mask nonstop (thus avoiding touching my face, and I have hand sanitizer with me. The combination has made me feel safe with the whole experience.
Reflecting on the biggest takeaway from the experience, I believe the most important aspect to flying safely during the pandemic is doing your part and wearing a mask, even while around the terminal or outside the airport. Having mine on has made me feel safe, and just seeing that everyone else was doing the same (especially during flight) was a massive reassurance that I was going to be just fine and not get / spreadCOVID-19.
