Do Not Fear Air travel During COVID Pandemic

Domestic Flight Travel in India During the Covid Pandemic

Like several others lockdown locked me up away from my husband in separate city. He was in Mumbai and I in Bhopal. It was almost three months of video calling but we hadn't met in person.

Exploring all possible means to travel to meet each other but not practical.

Trains started but on limited routes.. Flights started in limited numbers ...The enthusiasm to meet him was greeted by the risk of contracting the fearsome virus en route...

After Unlock 1 was announced , encouraged by my Dad and Bro , I decided to overcome my fear by taking all precautions

I was still apprehensive about air travel amidst the daily dose of news claiming increasing number of Covid 19 positive cases. Why I was so scared was because of the fact that we stay with our parents at home and in any case I didnt want to be carrier of disease for them for obvious reasons. This is the fear which is shared by many.

So this article is about how I overcame all those apprehensions.

Points to ponder before travel.

1. Collect information about the quarantine rules, entry rules to the destination state where u want to travel. This includes the number of days of quarantine, whether home quarantine or Institutional quarantine. If institutional quarantine it is chargeable so find out the same before hand to be ready with the payment reserve.

2. If you have to return back to the earlier city, then the above information is must to plan your return travel date.

In my case , Maharashtra govt guidelines at that time required Home quarantine for 14 days. So I could return only after 14 days unless I have a return ticket booked for a prior date at the time of booking of onward journey ticket.

3. A special mention here about the particular society rules of your destination city . See there are societies in Mumbai which do not allow the traveler from other cities enter their society complex. Hence a permission or discussion with them beforehand would save you any hassles later . In my case too my husband spoke to his society office bearer, and as I am a family member , so there was no issue, only I had to comply with the home quarantine guidelines of the Govt of Maharashtra.

4. All the above points taken care of .. now its time to book my tickets. Do read all the airline instructions after booking your tickets .

I booked through Air India..

The mandatory instructions are other than the normal instructions are - (these may change at different times so do read the latest instructions)

Wear face mask Download Arogya Setu App in your mobile and update your health status .Keep the app active. Limit your luggage. ie check in luggage in 1 in number weight up to 20 kg. and cabin luggage limited to one hand bag max weight up to 8 kg. Print boarding Pass, On your check in Luggage , paste details - PNR, Flight no,. Name No eatables including water would be served during flight travel.

5. For extra precautions, I kept with me extra face masks, face shield, cotton summer coat/apron, cotton gloves ( I cant bear latex gloves for long hours ). I was already taking lot of fruits, salads, tulsi and other herbs wala kaadha daily.

6. Keep a pen handy as you need to fill up few forms as soon you enter the airport. Your I card and printed Boarding pass must be kept handy too. Alternatively, u can show E boarding Pass in your mobile. I had taken a print out with me.

So now the travel begins ..

After taking care of all above points I was ready to begin my journey

7. AS soon I reached the airport, the passengers were required to fill a health declaration form stating details of the current health condition , your and your family members travel history.

8. Then the luggage and handbags were sanitized by Airport staff. There were markings for keeping social distance while standing in queue waiting your turn.

9. The security staff was standing behind the glass shield , to whom I showed my ID proof and Boarding pass printout.

10. As soon I entered, there were airport staff sitting , who checked the temperature and here i submitted the health information form..

11. Its time to put my luggage on the scanning belt. It was scanned and then I moved to the check in window . Here the luggage was taken care of in usual manner .

12. The security check , hand baggage scanning was done in usual manner. The electronic items like mobile, power bank , laptop , belts had to be kept separately in the tray.

13. All the airport staff, security personnel were wearing full safety gear and I must say were very polite and helpful. The senior citizens, pregnant ladies, ladies carrying infants were all being taken care of adequately.

14. At the time of boarding of the flight, another health declaration form was required to be filled up and submitted . ( These two forms were given to me at the check in window where i deposited by luggage)

15. As I had booked a middle seat, I was given a safety kit which included head gear, wrap around apron, shoes cover.

16. The window and aisle seat passengers were given face shields.

17. Now we entered the flight which was totally sanitized, the cabin crew and airlines staff were all wearing PPE kits, and were very professional with good etiquette.

18 Before landing the we were instructed to dispose off the safety kit at the BIO HAZARD BINS ONLY kept the exit of the Airport.

19. After reaching the destination Airport the Airport Officials will put the Quarantine Stamp and till Which date you have to be Home Quarantine as per the State Quarantine Guidelines

Once reached i disposed off all the safety kit including face shield, mask, apron, gloves into the bio hazard bin. Sanitized my hands and wore the new mask I had kept in extra with me.

So finally the sight of my husband gave me a broad smile, and so much of happiness that there was no fear only love around .. :)

DO not fear of Flight travel and Keep travelling with all the Precautions and guidelines released by Government, Airlines and Airport Authorities.

Happy Travelling and Stay Safe, Stay Healthy.