FLYING: Super super easy, but not for the faint of heart.
By: Nick Verdi, Staff Writer
During the pandemic, the prospect of travel has been overly fetishized as dangerous and irresponsible. The majority of government officials would especially condemn travel to foreign countries. So is it really that dangerous? Although my first-hand experience is very indicative that a healthy individual can avoid contracting COVID-19, even in an environment as dense as an airport, we must admit that not everyone should travel; though that choice in itself lies with the individual. However, the airports I visited had very solid safety measures to prevent most if not all COVID-19 related tragedies.
During winter break, I traveled to Mexico through the Cross Border Xpress (CBX) airport in San Diego to surprise my Abuelo on his 80th birthday. The airport was, well….an airport: cold sterile floors, flat mediocre paint, generic tourist posters, bored employees, unorganized families, and the new addition of sloppily added arrows and markers for social distancing. The experience was as boring as airports typically are if the description wasn’t obvious. The new additions were the ensuing COVID-19 regulations which have made travel significantly less risque than hypothesized by those who have not traveled.
To enter the airport, hand sanitization and a reliable mask are required. To cross the border a temperature below that of fever is needed, and a passport. After passing the border and going through the customs line, the terminal awaits the hungry traveler. Certain seats are marked with yellow tape in an x shape to maintain social distancing, although that did not stop individuals, and particularly a family of five to sit on such marked seats, as they had a crying toddler, a five-year-old, and a ten-year-old to take care of. Airport security did not care much as long as masks were on. There was not much they could do anyway, as most of the seats were filled up by the full terminal, and standing for hours waiting for a flight isn’t economic. What the observant mind may notice is that the stickler guards may enforce you to have a mask fully over your nose, while not practicing the policy they preach. Another keen detail is just the volume of people traveling, and the variety; from Mexican locals to various different tourists of different nationalities. After waiting hours for a flight, passengers are lined up into two groups: the front half of the plane and the back half of the plane. Humans are known not to be able to form straight lines, so this often looks like spread out clumps of families and friends. Then the flight attendants squabble fiendishly to hand out hand sanitizer to each and every passenger to sterilize the yuck. In my case, they cared so much about my health and safety, that they told me that my mask was not condoned by the World Health Organization, and threatened to the plank if I was not to find a mask other than my fishing gator. Being the inconsiderate tourist I am, I of course did not think to bring another mask, as the one I currently wore had gotten me across the border, and serviced the full terminal for hours. With this information, I of course asked for a replacement, and with the great service at the airport, they provided me with a mask that would sufficiently protect my immune system. The mask was thinner than my fishing gator, and insufficiently covered my face, being loose, and making my lips look, Kardashian, with them poking out of the mask. I was probably safer if I just didn’t wear one altogether but the attendant insisted that it was safer so I proceeded anyway (as though I had a choice). Sarcasm aside, the mask wasn’t too different from the ones they hand out at target for free, just thinner and less ergonomic. They looked more like leisurely underwear than a facemask.
Boarding the plane was exactly the same as you would expect, the attendants herded the cattle on board, and into the shoulder to shoulder seating. Despite what you may think, the inside of a plane is relatively safe, because passengers are required to wear a mask and pay the entrance fee. In addition, air on an airplane is filtered through a special filter, or then simply pumped in from the outside, and this is done every 3 minutes. Yet, despite this safety, I was astonished that the airline we took, Volaris, was still able to figure out how to sell passengers a coke, with the threat of COVID and all. Let me scratch that: The flight was safe as long as passengers had a mask, up until they required food and drink. This isn’t out of the ordinary, as most public places have this exception, but still, it makes you think.
The landing was simple enough, and with it, they form the two lines again, and you are escorted into the airport. Before they allow you to enter, your temperature is screened by the state of the art fifty dollar infrared sensors, and after passing the final trial I grabbed my luggage and scrumdiddly-dipped my way out of there.
Returning was the exact same, except the International Airport of Qeurétaro having more temperature screenings, hand sanitizer, and a Covid-19 questionnaire, that can be taken digitally for government tracking, I mean contact tracing, or on a paper to later be shredded. All of this safety was placed towards the entrance, as they often throw out your screening papers, and pretty much function just as they would if COVID didn’t exist. Then passengers wait around for their flight, in another packed terminal with the same x’s that everyone ignores, and an open Starbucks that allows you to dodge COVID without a mask. Passengers once again form into their familial clumps and are herded onto a packed flight. Once reunited with the U.S. of A, passengers pick up their luggage, endure U.S. Border customs, and then go home.
To be noted, travel is nearly exactly the same as it was before COID-19, and is just arguably just as safe. Travel is made fool-proof to COVID-19 by the mask and throw-away questionnaire, hand sanitizer on the occasion, temperature screenings, at the entrances to points of interest. It should also be noted that the airport will provide you with a W.H.O.-approved mask that reveals just as much as taboo undergarments. On a serious note, I believe that the average person should not be afraid of travel, as it appears as if most passengers do not contract COVID-19 in or around the airport. I have deduced this from my 4 flights in and out of Mexico; as I have not yet contracted, or intend to contract the Coronavirus. Good habits such as frequent hand washing and not touching your face seem to make a difference, the one thing I can say I will miss in this “New Normal,” is the service often referred to as “A Coke and a Smile,” but at least you can still get that Coke.
To learn more about COVID-19, please visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html