Traveling in the Pandemic

Asima Tariq, my sister and a recent college graduate, traveled from New York to Los Angeles in April to spend time with her family. Getting on the plane was a scary experience. “I felt nervous and intimidated by the amount of people and the people not following the CDC guidelines,” she said.

The CDC guidelines for domestic travel in the U.S require that you keep a mask covering your nose and mouth at all times unless you are eating. It also suggests that you sanitize or wash your hands as much as possible, and they recommend if you have any symptoms that you avoid travel.

It is hard to social distance on a plane. Asima flew on Alaska airlines, and the airline crew tried to make sure people were acting responsibly. “The airline crew was trying their best, but people would pull down their masks when they walked away and there isn’t much you can do if the passengers act right in front of the crew and switch up after,” she said.

Alaska Airlines lists its safety requirements on its website. It says that they follow CDC guidelines, and before boarding and throughout the flight passengers are reminded of the guidelines. The airline promises to take strict action against those who don’t follow.

Marium Irteza also flew to see family, but she had a different experience on an international flight. She goes to medical school in Istanbul, Turkey and she said, “I came back to the city for my family. I hadn’t seen them in so long and classes were online so I could come back home.”

She made sure to do her research and she chose the airline that she felt was doing the most to keep their passengers safe. She flew Delta Airlines because they blocked the middle seats and that made her feel safer.

Marium said she didn’t feel nervous or uneasy. “The way most airports and airlines handled travel made me feel safe and at ease,” she said. Traveling during the pandemic felt similar to travel prior to the pandemic with simply a few additional steps and precautions, such as temperature checks, mask compliance, and negative PCR tests,” she said.

The forecast for future travel in 2021 is a little brighter. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on its website that, “Government imposed travel restrictions…continue to dampen the strong underlying demand for international travel.” The travel industry has been hit hard with the pandemic, but IATA and other experts think air travel in the U.S. will pick up as more and more people get vaccinated.