Traveling during a pandemic

After a trying year (and a bit), traveling is a nice distraction. However, traversing through the airports is certainly a little more stressful that it used to be. On top of the extra precautions that must be taken, there is a lot more planning that must be done before you even leave the country.

Now, the amount of planning depends entirely on which country you travel to. If you’re lucky enough, all that might be required of you is proof that you’ve had both of your vaccinations. I was sadly not so lucky. Entering into England gave me a multitude of hassles to deal with. A negative covid test within 3 days before arrival, as well as a completed passenger locator form 48 hours before arrival, carries a lot of stress due to the short time that you have to complete them. On top of that, I had to plan out where I was going to isolate and the 3 covid tests I have to take. Thankfully, all of this went (and is going) surprisingly well for me. No problems yet!

One bright side is that going through airports isn’t much different. As long as one has their tests results, proof of vaccination form and (in my case) a completed passenger locator form on hand, there is no difference with the process. I have noticed that airports do seem to have a distinctly sombre tone to them though. Even Saskatoon airport, which is generally on the quieter side, seemed distinctly emptier than I remember it being. In addition, many stores were shut, contributing to that emptiness.

But I discovered that that wasn’t an uncommon theme amongst airports. Toronto, Frankfurt and Manchester airports all seemed to be nigh on depressed, as if they still were fighting to bounce back from the blow that was dealt to them by the pandemic. I am hopeful that this will change by the time I head back to Canada, however I fear that it may be a while before they shake off the dark cloud which hangs over them.