Air Travel During COVID – Tips for Your Domestic Flight (Part Two)

File photo via Maryamarce | Wikimedia. Source

Traveling by airplane continues to be an evolving experience, as more passengers head back to the skies.  Since I last traveled in May 2020, bookings are up and airlines are flying more regularly -- https://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffwhitmore/2020/06/19/are-airlines-flying-normal-routes-as-summer-begins/#417db5cd692c -- although not as much as the airlines would like.   But flying is still far from the pre-pandemic “normal” to which air travelers were accustomed.  In June, traveling again from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, a few more key things stood out to me:

1. Delta is blocking middle seats and keeping first/business class at 50% capacity through September – Delta is still committed to social distancing, and blocking those middle seats, as well as limiting capacity in the upper class cabin seems to be pretty consistent.  Flight crews are working to maintain that policy.  Not all airlines are doing that (United and American, most notably).  But consider that even with all the cleaning, sanitizing, and safety protocols in place, sitting next to someone on a plane for even a couple of hours is still pretty close proximity.  Blocking the middle seat won’t keep you at a six-foot distance but it gives you a bit more space, and in my opinion, just feels a bit more reassuring. For what it’s worth, and not just because ATL is my home airport, Delta’s policy puts it first for airline selection for travel for me for the foreseeable future. 

2. Limited food and no alcohol on board planes – Almost all the airlines have deeply streamlined their food offerings.  For short domestic flights, Delta is handing out Ziploc bags with a small bottle of water, a couple of snacks (e.g. Biscoff and Cheez-Its), and a small Purell sanitizing wipe.  If you think that’s not adequate or it feels like the airlines are cheating you out of a meal, remember that COVID procedures can be great equalizers. Everyone on board the plane gets that snack for Delta domestic flights – no more unlimited drinks in first class, or running out of snacks by the time the service cart makes it to the back of the airplane.  But alas you also won’t be able to get beer, wine or spirits in any class of service on most airlines, including Delta, as the beverage of choice is limited to water -- https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/alcohol-ban-airlines-covid-19/index.html  As CNN and others have explained this is less about depriving people of their favorite libation, or their favorite soda even, and more about limiting beverage options so that people aren’t taking off their masks constantly for drinking and eating.  I found the Delta snack pack was certainly adequate for a short flight, and also observed that it kept many people from lingering over food. Instead, passengers quickly consumed the items, or sipped only occasionally from a water bottle. I also observed fewer passengers bringing their own food on board; maybe the days of sitting next to someone’s smelly lunch are gone for now.

3. Getting through TSA remains a breeze – the lines are just gone, and TSA Pre-Check seems to be open more often in more airports. 

CLEAR has reopened in part but it seems to depend on the time of day you fly.  Pictures from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson’s security area, and the limited number of flights posted on the boards at the airports show how limited air travel remains in most places. On a flight into Washington Reagan (DCA) in May, almost every bay in the terminals was open, with one United plane at a gate, one Southwest plane at a gate, two JetBlue planes at gates, and only my Delta plane coming into the terminal.

4. Don’t count on getting food to go or eating at the airport – Almost anything other than fast food outlets are closed, and seated restaurants are shuttered.  At DCA, one restaurant had a forlorn garland of artificial cherry blossoms out to decorate its seating area, but chairs were pushed against the wall and cordoned off.

Where there are quick food options, it’s often the case that those outlets close early, so don’t bet on them for late night or early morning flights.  But on a brighter note, bathrooms seem cleaner than ever and airports appear to be making a special effort to keep them sanitized regularly, and to have plenty of hand gel stations available.  Bonus points to the airports with motion-activated faucets, hand soap, and towel dispensers so that you really don’t need to touch more than necessary when using the facilities.

5. Checking Bags – I haven’t been checking my luggage on flights, for a couple of reasons.  First, waiting for baggage delivery at the luggage carousel means more time spent in the airport, whereas I really want to minimize that.  Second, if you check your bags they get handled by a lot of people, and go through a lot of places that have seen millions of other bags, increasing the possibility for contamination of your luggage.  That said, the risk of transmission of COVID is now reported to be largely due to infectious droplets, so if you absolutely must check your bag I would caution you only to leave it outside to air when you arrive at your destination, and to handle it with gloves and hand sanitizer for a few days.  Personally, I shipped a box of items via UPS rather than checking luggage when I traveled.  And as for my carry-on, I brought along a kitchen trash bag, and bundled the carry-on in that before I put it under my seat or in an overhead bin.

Traveling now is very much about getting creative and being adaptable (no matter what kind of strange looks you get when you whip out that Hefty bag!).  There will no doubt be more changes to come, especially if COVID resurges or enters a second wave before a vaccine is available.  Stay tuned . . .

-Laura Flippin | Wheels Up