Flying during the Covid Era — I took the only flight from JFK Terminal 4.
And it was stressful.
I love flying. I am on a flight at least once a month, sometimes for work, but most often it’s for personal reasons. Sometimes, it’s to go see my parents across the country but most of the time, it’s to explore someplace new.
Earlier this week, I decided to go see my parents after spending 2 months without being on a flight. My friend told me to think of it as an “adventure” and it was an adventure, a very stressful adventure.
I have been in New York City since the shutdown of everything and I decided at the beginning of May that it was time for a less stressful city. There were too many mornings that I woke up to the sound of sirens. Don’t get me wrong — I was one of the lucky ones in the city that lost too many people too fast. Somehow, through all of this, I have started relishing the quietness and peacefulness of the city with no people.
But there is a constant state of alertness and sadness that has plagued the city. Crossing the street every time you see someone is a weird feeling, especially when you are used to being on a crowded subway. Also, I figured since R0<1, it would be a good time to fly since my chance of getting something would be less now than when everyone decided to leave the city in March.
I talked to my sister who is a physician in Washington and she gave me detailed instructions on what to do.
With these instructions and additional suggestions to self-isolate myself for a couple of weeks, I thought I was ready.
But I wasn’t ready to see how much this virus has crippled our regular lives.
The hustle and bustle and the excitement of flying was gone out of JFK. The business travelers were gone. So were the tourists with 5 bags. The reuniting families with the signs were gone. I have flown out of here countless times at all hours of the day and this is the emptiest I have ever seen this airport.
Security took longer than expected.
I walked over to security and there is no TSA pre-check line.There was a single line where everyone has to take out their laptops and shoes. As someone who has had Pre-Check since the beginning, it was a very odd and humbling experience.
Surprisingly, it took a while going through security. Only a few people can fit in the area when maintaining 6 feet distance between each person.
Terminals are as empty as the airport.
My last flight the weekend before Corona-shutdown was from the same terminal. It was quite eerie and sad to see how much had changed during the time.
There is no priority boarding.
My flight boarded from the back of the aircraft to minimize exposure to people as we boarded maintaining social distance. This felt ironic because we were all going to be on the plane for 6+ hours. Most airlines are now requiring masks on board the flight.
Lack of middle seats doesn’t help when each row is less than a foot apart.
Ideally, this would be have been a great flight. Everyone got their own row. There were no middle seats. But the problem is that these are not regular times. I am not 6 feet away from the person in front of me who chose to recline his chair. And the lady behind me decided to lean forward and keep her mask around her neck. To anyone wondering, I did wipe my entire row and each of the TVs down with the Lysol wipe box that I brought. It didn’t do much to bring my heart rate down.
In Flight Experience
I had my mask on the entire time. The only time I took off the mask was to drink water and eat the Biscoff cookies that were given out in Delta-branded plastic bags. Unfortunately, there is no in-flight meal service. I could have used a cheese plate.
Overall Experience
It felt like one of the longest flights I have ever taken. That includes the time I spent most of the 5 hour flight in the bathroom with a bout of diarrhea or the time I was on a 17 hour flight with a non-reclining seat near the bathroom without entertainment.
I have always loved flying. It meant the beginning of a new adventure and a load of memories. I chose to live in a city that thrives on close human contact. But, I realized during this “adventure” that even if and when things open, I am not going to be able to enjoy them until I stop seeing other people as “viral threats”. Governors can lift restrictions and companies can somehow create a “safe-space” but it’s going to require more than that.
How am I supposed to enjoy close human contact when the very existence of that contact jeopardizes my life?
Until we have an answer to this question, we can’t return back to “normal”.
