Covid19 had changed everything and especially the way we traveled while the pandemic was going on. I decided to make a series of posts describing my experience travelling during that time.
During the 1st wave of the virus I was self-isolating in the countryside of Japan and doing farmwork. My initial plan, before the virus hit, was to go to Europe, visit my family and dogs and then travel around visiting good old friends. During the end of the 1st wave, Summer of 2020, I was lucky enough to get a farming job in a couple of farms in Norway. Norway was closed for tourism at that point, but you could enter if you had a valid job contract, which I did. So this was the sign to try to find my way back to Europe.
Immediately it was obvious how hard it was to travel around that period. Flights getting canceled, borders closing, quarantines and tests plus not much information out there. Somehow I made it, eventually it took me 5 days and 6 flights to reach a beautiful little village in Norway for farmwork…!!!
All the international flights in and out of Japan were going only from Tokyo. So in July 2020, I took an internal flight from Fukuoka airport (FUK) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) with Jetstar. The flight was around half full. The flight attendants wore masks but no other protective gear.
Most of the gates were closed. There were no people around and all the shops were closed as well. The place looked really empty which was such a weird, kinda spooky feeling. Under normal circumstances this airport serves approximately 44 million passengers (2019 data), I’ve used it quite many times and it’s always really busy.
But then, looking at the departures panel, you could get an idea of what was going on…
I’ve never seen so many flights cancelled in a single day. Actually when I caught my first glimpse on that panel I was struck with a feeling of horror. Almost all the daily departures were canceled, only a few would fly. And fortunately my flight to Doha with Qatar Airways was one of these few! It would even depart 20 minutes earlier than planned! Well done Qatar Airways!
Later, when I also saw my flight’s aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER, being prepared at the gate, I was sure that my flight would take off as scheduled.
Of course our body temperature had been checked multiple times before we board the flight. We were provided with a face shield as well. Back then I didn’t know that the face mask I had (with the filters) was not allowed on flights – it protects me from others but not the other way around. The staff on the next flight let me know so that was my only flight with that kind of mask. Further more, hilariously, I didn’t know that there were two protective covers on the face shield, one on the outer and one one on the inner layer, which they had to be both removed. I had removed only the outer layer so my vision and face shield was quite hazy. Fortunately a nice fellow in Doha told me about it, I removed the inner layer and I finally had a clear vision.
We were also given a protective kit with disposable gloves, hand sanitizing gel and a normal mask. The staff wore disposable gloves, masks and protective glasses. While quite a few people were wearing white hazmat suits, the airline staff had their normal official clothing. Snacks, food and beverages were normally served and that was the only time we could remove our face shield and mask. The flight was really smooth.
Arriving in Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, while disembarking our aircraft to catch the bus to the transit area, I saw the cleaners outside with their protective gear, getting ready to come clean our aircraft.
Hamad International Airport in Doha had various art installed here and there. Normally it’s an extremely busy airport as it is a major hub, serving approximately 38 million passengers (2019 data). But then it felt like any other airport with normal traffic. Since Qatar Airways was still flying there were considerably more people in Doha, connecting to flights all over the world. Most of the shops and restaurants were open.
Social distancing was enforced on the seats by putting a strip on the seat next to you, so people couldn’t sit next to each other. It’s a nice airport with only two disadvantages (my personal opinion), the seats are made in a way that you can’t lay down if you have a long stop over (there are of course resting areas but probably you wouldn’t want to use them during the Covid19 time as they were crowded) and they really pound you with the air condition, if you don’t have any clothes on you it’s highly likely you might catch a cold and that’s exactly what you don’t want to happen during a pandemic, when they check your body temperature everywhere you go.
My next flight to Athens, Greece went ahead as scheduled. In that flight the staff wore white protective clothes instead of their normal uniform and it seemed to me that they were much more alert about the virus than the previous flights.
Additional information
GPS coordinates for places in this post, click on them to be redirected to the exact point in google maps. Click on the names to be redirected to their official websites (if applicable).
Tokyo Narita airport : 35°46’12.8″N 140°23’02.9″E
Doha Hamad airport : 25°16’13.8″N 51°36’09.7″E
Qatar Airways official website
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