Flight Travel Today
With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic travel has drastically changed. There are travel restrictions all over the world and even quite a few between the different states in the US. At the airport things are also very different. The article today is about our recent experience June 5th to June 7th flying for the first time since mid March. We decided it was time to test the waters and try a short flight to Corpus Christi on Southwest Airlines. I write this article so you can see first hand what its currently like to travel now and give a little information on travel today. I am not encouraging you to travel as that is a personal decision where you have to weigh your personal risks and decide for yourself what to do. As always I recommend social distancing and wearing a mask to keep safe and if we believe we cannot social distance we will not do it.
On Friday, June 5th we took a short 30 minute flight from Houston-Hobby to Corpus Christi International. We used the Parking spot to park our car and they only had one of their normal three locations open. We were able to social distance on the bus as they have seats closed off as we took the short 5 minute ride to the airport. Once we got to the airport we checked a bag and at the time there were around 2 couples in line. Southwest had social distance markers on the floor and the staff wore masks. Most people at the check in also wore masks. After we got our bag dropped off that took around 10 minutes we made our way to security. They also had social distance markers and for the most part people were taking it seriously. The TSA agent checking our boarding pass and ID had plexiglass surrounding the booth and you slipped your ID through a hole. The x-ray check part of security had not changed much other than social distancing. Most people where wearing masks but some where not. Donna and I walked around the airport and one wing of Hobby is nearly shutdown with few people there. Where our gate was there were a few people waiting but once again we stood away from people until it was time to get on our plane. Southwest no longer boards in groups of 60 (A,B,C) but now boards in groups of 10 starting with A 1-10 and continues. This way social distancing is maintained. We boarded with the A group and people social distanced on the jetway. While on the flight everyone was required to wear a mask at all times. There were only 44 people on our flight which could hold 175 people. We had no one for a few rows around us and since our flight was short there was no beverage service at all. The deplaning process was normal and we made sure we social distanced. At Corpus Christi the airport was pretty empty when we arrived. It is a small airport and we quickly left the gate area and picked up our bag. Our bag was one of two that had been checked on our flight so it was easy to get our bags. There were a couple people renting cars but they once again had plexiglass separating us from the staff. Our car was waiting outside and had a notice that it had been sanitized. We went ahead and used a clorox wipe to clean the touch surfaces anyway. We were out of the airport within 30 minutes of arriving.
On Sunday, June 7th we took our flight back at 2pm. We got to the airport a standard 2 hours early and dropped off our rental car. We took our Key into the airport and checked it in with the inside booth versus someone outside. We were the only people in line at the Southwest counter and we easily checked in our bag and took some time to talk to the very friendly Southwest agents who where all wearing masks. We took some time to look at the small USS Lexington museum at the airport and some art work before heading through security. Like at Hobby there was plexiglass between us and the TSA agent and there was no one in line for security. We ate at the airport restaurant and was once again away from everyone else and the server wore a mask. There were very few people at the small airport so we were able to social distance easy. There were only 37 people on our return flight but we had some people sit somewhat near us. Our flight attendant made sure someone who was not wearing a mask put one on and the person did put one on. Southwest will not sell their planes at full capacity until September 30th so no flight will be full. We loaded by groups of 10 again. At Hobby there were more people at the airport but other than briefly passing someone were able to stay 6ft away from people. The only part of the travel process that got a bit crowded was the bus back to the parking lot. It was about as full as they could get it with the seats blocked. Some people wore masks and others did not. It was around a 5 minute ride and we were back at our car and done with our trip.
During our trip we felt very safe as the airlines like Southwest and the airports are taking measures to keep people safe. We have felt less safe at local stores than during our trip. That was just our experience on this trip and you might find things different if you decide to travel. It is once again your choice if you feel it is safe to venture back out again but my thoughts are there are risks in everything in life so we decided to give this a chance to get back out there while taking precautions. We wore masks the entire time in the airports and plane and heavily washed our hands often.
Before planning any kind of trip I heavily recommend you research your destination as many countries have closed their borders to travelers. The rules also vary from state to state in the US with some states like Texas being pretty open and states like Hawaii that require a 14 day quarantine for anyone who arrives. Some states like Alaska require a negative Covid-19 test to be allowed into the state. As with anything be safe out there and follow best practices like wearing a mask, social distancing and proper hygiene to keep you and other safe!
