Flying During the Covid-19 Pandemic: My Experience
This year has been all kinds of years; the pandemic of COVID-19 put the world on the stop, and while it’s not the worst, many travellers like me had to cancel or reschedule their travel plans.
Or fly back home as soon as possible, which was my case. Therefore, I thought I would share my experience flying during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I was on the other side of the world, travelling in Japan when we had to choose and do the right thing by flying back home in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic as the world was shutting down, and every country went on a general lockdown.
Flying During the Covid-19 Pandemic: My Experience
Back at the beginning, close to the middle of March, my friends and I flew to Japan. things were a little unsure, but as our plane wasn’t cancelled, we decided to go through and see what happened.
Some places were closed in Japan, such as amusement parks (Disneyland Tokyo, Fuji-Q..), museums and exhibits (Tokyo Borderless TeamLab…).
That made us a bit hesitant at first; I mean, some of the things we had planned to do were closed, but they were still a lot to see, and we had already paid everything and weren’t sure we could get a refund.
A little backstory
France was still allowing travel, and Japan seemed to function as normal despite the closing, It was pretty much business as usual despite a few closes.
I had been to Japan before, and from my perspective, life there seemed to be going as normal as before. Maybe a couple more persons wearing masks in the transports, foreigners and us all.
We saw quite a lot of tourists around as well. So, we weren’t the only ones who still decided to go through, which stupidly, in a way at the time, comforted us that we made the right decision.
Things were pretty great for the first half of our trip; we got to tick off much of our bucket list!
“What makes life valuable is that doesn’t last forever”
Of course, with this title, you can guess that it wouldn’t last. And those last few moments of what is a perfect memory that I will forever cherish and what would come next really highlighted how much we took for granted in life.
It was an excellent reminder to be grateful for what I have and not envy what I don’t have.
But I digress.
Things started to unravel on our last day in Ishigaki, an island in Okinawa.
I had been checking our flight status quite often, and one morning, as we were waiting for the local bus, it turned out that our flight status was, written in bold capital red letters, CANCELLED. That wasn’t as fun as when I went to the wrong airport.
Although we can’t say that was a real surprise, we had already been talking about this eventuality and possibly going back home sooner because of how the pandemic was evolving and for personal reasons.
What happened after our flight was cancelled?
After the news of our flight being cancelled was dropped, we needed to find a new solution to return home.
That was for sure; the only point we weren’t sure about at first was when we should return home. The next day? In a couple of days? Or maybe even try and finish the trip?
But that was cleared up quickly as the sooner was, the better.
On March 27th, we landed in Tokyo, Haneda, late afternoon.
After being sent left and right and given a phone number that didn’t work, we managed to the right terminal, the international flight one.
I briefly explained the situation to the hostess at the desk, that our flight had been cancelled and we would like to be re-booked on another flight.
It turns out we got fortunate. The last flight to Paris from Tokyo was the next day at 11 a.m.
After that, there were no more flights until the 25th of April with ANA, our company, and even then, it was unsure whether the company would resume their flight.
Of course, in the worst-case scenario, we could have tried to get a refund and fly with another company, but that would have been more expensive.
So, in the chaos, that was a bit of a relief to know that we had found a solution, even though you can guess, but we were gutted.
How was it to fly during the COVID-19 pandemic?
After a failed attempt to explain to our hostel that we were only staying this night and cancelling the rest, some late-night shopping at DONKI for some souvenirs and a mere few hours of sleep, we were back at Haneda.
We arrived reasonably early, so we had time to check the shops before the customs in a nearly empty airport. That’s how I found a 1-meter-long Shirotan, and well, I decided I should buy it just because.
Like on my previous trip in 2015 with my giant Kapibara-san that didn’t miss to make the flight attendants laugh and find it, oh so kawaii.
Almost everyone was wearing a mask at the airport and trying to maintain social distancing; we could also buy some face masks at one shop, as I knew my family didn’t have any at home.
Social distancing was maintained for as long as the boarding started, then you would have thought it was any regular boarding; some people were trying to keep their distance, but that was not happening.
As expected, the flight was pretty packed; it was the last flight. However, we sat two by two in two rows of free, and no one came to sit next to us, so that was cool.
A few people weren’t wearing a mask, which wasn’t the best call, but then again, we removed our masks for lunch and drinks, and everyone was pretty close.
So, in a way, the effort of wearing a mask was wasted. Also, wearing the same face mask for a route over 12h, the mask was probably ineffective from the moment we left the hotel to the moment I got back home.
However, seeing that most people kept it on whenever we didn’t need to remove it was nice. This felt like the best option.
Landing Back In France
We landed in Roissy Charles De Gaulle, where most international flights landed, and at this time, all remaining flights landed because the other main airport in Paris, Orly, was closed.
The airport was empty except for a few workers when we got off the plane, not a single soul waiting to board as you’d usually see the terminal pretty lively with people.
On the 28th of March, France and Paris were in full lockdown with very restrictive measures.
Does that mean we were checked up upon arrival?
No.
Does that mean we were advised to quarantine and isolate for 14 days?
No.
We walked out of the airport as quickly as we got in, without any check-up whatsoever. I only saw a few signs advising people to keep a distance from each other, but that was it.
This was highly disappointing and showed how badly France handled the pandemic on some points. Incredibly, you’d let about anyone and everyone back in the country without at least making the minimum effort by checking their temperature and advising them to stay isolated.
I stayed in isolation and avoided my family as much as I could during the first 14 days, as I didn’t have to work ( I mean, with COVID, I don’t even have a job anyway) and because it was common sense as the whole country was on lockdown.
But I know not everyone thinks the same way, so it’s disappointing to have noticed no actions being taken first-hand. And if you read more testimony of people flying back to France, it has stayed the same for a while.
That concludes my experience and travel diary on flying during the COVID-19 pandemic! If you had to take a flight during the pandemic, let me know how it was in the comment below! I’m not the only one who had to pass during the pandemic.
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FLYING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: MY EXPERIENCE
✈ Best Travel Ressources To Plan Your Next Trip
✈ How To Find Flights?
– Skyscanner; it is a good comparator for finding the cheapest flights.
– Google Flights is also a good help when comparing flights.
✈ Where To Book Accommodations?
– Booking.com: plenty of options and ways to get discounts the more you book.
✈ Best Sites To Book Activities
– GetYourGuide when I can’t get a ticket directly on the website or if it’s easier to go through them.
– Klook if you need to book more than just activities and would like to get everything from the same website or different day trips—(i.e. transport cards, car rental, hotel…).
✈ Other helpful travel resources
– Radical Storage: If you need a place to keep your luggage for an extended period when you travel, I recommend using them.
– TheTrainline: If you love to travel by train like me, then TheTrainline needs to be your go-to website for train travel in Europe.
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Disclaimer: This resources box contains affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you book anything through my links at no additional cost. These links help me support the blog and generate more content. Happy travels!
I flew from Asia to the United States during the worst of the outbreak and I too was sorely disappointed in how the US is handling the pandemic. There were no temperature checks or any mention of a self quarantine. It was very disappointing.
That’s very disappointing to hear! It looks like a lot of countries didn’t bother to do the bare minimum…
Wow! Good thing you got back immediately before the lockdown. Hope this pandemic ends so we can travel again
Very interesting and informative post. This will definitely hep people who are planning to travel. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Interesting experience. It’s hard to know the right thing to do now! Everything is so unsettled. Thanks for sharing your story!
Wow! What an adventure. Glad you got back home safely.
Wow. You got lucky to be rescheduled from Paris to Tokyo during this pandemic. Thank you for your candid insight!
What a story you have! I am glad that you made it back safely and before lock down!