Guess what? An unexpected business trip popped up, and I thought to myself, "I'm taking this opportunity to do with this blog what I was planning to do in the first place: write about my experiences!"
Since this trip involved flying in the middle of this bloody pandemic and having to go to 5 different airports across the country (only 1 of which I hadn't been to yet), I decided to be extra observant! I didn't take too many pictures, mostly due to the fact that I wasn't comfortable taking pictures of these people out traveling under the current global circumstances, but I did take a few that I felt would contribute to this post.
Now flying tips and hacks will still be in my next post, so this one will focus more on what you can expect if you need to travel and are concerned about Covid. In other words, it's meant to be informative rather than entertaining. And no, I won't be offering any opinions on the current pandemic situation. All I will say is be smart!
Mask Policies
I did my research before flying because I have asthma, and leaving a mask on for too long a time has caused me to have breathing problems, and I've even had a few dozen close calls with asthma attacks. Having to fly between four different airports and stick around these terminals over a period of about 20 hours was a terrifying prospect.
Thankfully, it would appear that while most airports are compliant with current CDC regulations regarding face coverings, they also take into consideration that there are people who has respiratory problems. They don't allow masks with plastic air filters and valves, but they do accept bandanas, scarves, buffs, and face shields, though the latter is required to double with one of the previous. I wore a mask that I could breathe easiest in, though I could have worn a bandana and not had to worry as much.
If you have respiratory problems like I do and you plan to fly, I would suggest trying out these different masks or face coverings to make sure that you will not only be complying with guidelines but also be comfortable and not risking your health. And since I posted that picture above, as long as you stick with one of those, you should be fine.
Terminal Tomb
My flight was to Baltimore, Maryland, and my flight plan to get there was to take off from Sacramento to Seattle to Atlanta to Baltimore.
The first thing I noticed when I entered the terminal was that there was nobody there. I went through TSA in two minutes and was doomed to wait another 2 hours for my flight to leave. Several years ago, the SMF terminal was refurbished from typical fast food restaurants to finer dining options. As I went in search of dinner, only one restaurant was open, which had mostly vegan options, and one store that had your typical traveler items, souvenirs, and some snacks. The utter desertion of these restaurants was disheartening.
Then there was the fact that practically nobody was here. Social distancing was simply not a problem because there weren't even enough people to social distance from.
With this being December, airports are usually bustling with activity and all venues open to the various types of travelers. Even when you're not traveling the holiday season, it's nearly impossible to feel lonely in an airport terminal because there's so many people around. A lot of the time you're there you can strike up a conversation with someone, or even entertain yourself by people watching. Not this time. Now there's so few people around that it almost feels like you've been abandoned until you hear the boarding call for your flight.
By the time I was ready to eat the one store had closed, which left only the vegan option open. Though it was still a little early, I decided to eat there and planned to grab a snack at the Sea-Tac airport since it was less than 2 hours to get there. Big mistake! It was gross.
Stops Along the Way
The plane began to board a little late, but there was a reason for that: there were only 10 people on the flight. Yes, I counted!
Everyone who had booked a flight on this plane was there, so we boarded later than the call time but were plenty ready to leave, so we were in the air early. And I'm telling you, the grin that spread across my face as my plane left the tarmac to whisk me out of this declining state would've been radiating for everyone to see if my face hadn't been masked.
There was plenty of space between the guests, what with there being only 10 people, so the flight attendants after passing out the snacks just took seats in the open rows and chilled. Nobody called for any services either, so they only left those rows to collect trash once or twice. It was nice to see that they could relax this flight.
Reaching Seattle, I found that while a good many of their restaurants and most of their shops were closed, they still had plenty enough open to offer a decent selection for hungry travelers. Their terminal was busier than Sacramento, but they still had empty areas that were accessible. I escaped to one of those areas to take a few minutes so to allow my poor lungs to breathe uninhibited. There were a few other people there who had the same ideas, but everyone was courteous enough to stay far enough away from one another and pulled their masks up if someone came close. I wouldn't be surprised if these people all had asthma too.
My next stop was in Atlanta. This being a red-eye flight, I was thankfully able to sleep most of this flight, which is big because I don't sleep well when flying. This flight also was only at about half-capacity, so the middle seats, except when it came to families, were all open and not meant to be filled.
By the time I landed, it was 5am their time, and my final flight to Baltimore wasn't leaving until after 8. So again, nothing was open, but this time it was due to the time of day rather than Covid restrictions. At that time of morning, only the Dunkin' Donuts was opening, and by the time I left, other restaurants and shops were slowly opening up.
When at last I boarded that last flight, I found myself in a row by myself, which suited me just fine. I slept most of the way again, but the flight attendants still left me a bag of snacks for when I woke up. Weren't they sweet? If I'd had any cash on me I would've left a tip!
This flight was short, and the company I was doing the business trip with wouldn't have their pickup driver there for another three and a half hours. So this terminal had the most shops and restaurants open, though there still weren't very many people there.
All in all, the flights to my destination were uneventful and decently distanced from all other travelers. The one thing that was out of the ordinary was that the Sacramento terminal had closed all but two shops down while all the other airports had enough open to keep their travelers happy and occupied.
The Return Home
Here's where things start to return to normal. The business trip was done, but everyone who attended was to board the bus back to the airport at 2am, which would bring us to the terminal at 4am.
Though it was far too early, there were still plenty of people there, and that probably had to do with the fact that it was now less than a week before Christmas! And here is where the social distancing goes out the window!
Just about everything in the Baltimore terminal was open, and more and more people kept flowing in as the hours went on. Once the plane began to board, it became evident by the people amassing that the flight was going to be full. Boarding took just as long as a normal, pre-Covid flight, and was even delayed for an hour too!
Thankfully, there was only one stop this time, and it was in Dallas. As expected, this terminal had almost all of its shops and restaurants open, with the exception of one or two that were undergoing renovations. This terminal was full, and as we began to board, it was announced that it was yet another full flight.
What was odd though, was that although people had no cares about how close they were to anyone else when boarding the plane, it almost brought back a feeling of normalcy. I had experienced something similar earlier this year when driving home at 5pm and running into rush hour traffic that I hadn't experienced since the year before. While it may not have been the healthiest thing to endure, it almost seemed good for my mental health. By being around so many people all in a hurry to get to their seats, it felt like a real travel experience, albeit an annoying one.
I had the disadvantage of sitting in the middle seat this time, but the two young men on either side of me were absorbed with their mobile devices and were polite, but barely interacted with me beyond what would be expected. This seat I was in was also closest to business class I'd had my entire trip, and I was able to observe that, while all other passengers were receiving those lovely snack bags I posted a pic of earlier, business and first class were still being offered drinks from the drink cart and other snacks.
The flight was uneventful, and we all made it to Sacramento safely. I did check the terminal as I exited to see if any other restaurants or shops were open, but only one or two other shops were open in addition to the one that was open when I had left the last time, and that same restaurant was the only one still open. Then again, this is California. Expecting anything better at this point regardless of the situation is hopeless!
Was this a good move?
Ultimately, this is a trip I took for business purposes, and I would've kicked myself if I'd missed out on it. Thankfully, my asthma wasn't too much of a problem despite the fact that wearing a mask for that long was probably unhealthy for me. It has also been over 2 weeks since I've returned, and I'm still healthy with no symptoms!
If you are concerned with flying for any reasons during this pandemic, whether for business, pleasure, or family matters, the best thing to do is to keep yourself informed. Be aware of any health issues you have and be prepared to accept that keeping 6 feet apart from others may be impossible. As I said, the best thing to do is to be smart.
I'm so happy that I was at least able to take this trip, even though it wasn't much of a vacation. I will definitely have other opportunities coming up, and you'd better believe that other travel experiences will be posted when they come! As for my previous post saying that I would be posting about flying solo, that one has been pushed to my next post, so it's still coming!
And now, I will make sure to cover the topic of flying by yourself more in depth. In the meantime, please stay safe, and Happy New Year!
