After jumping on 120 per year for some years now, staying on the ground for 4 months due to COVID-19 was a refreshing and welcomed change for me. Still, after calling the Zurich airport my inofficial home for many years, I was really curious to find out what has changed due to the pandemic, what the flight experience would look like and what restrictions and new flight rules we should be aware of. Follow me on my first flight with SWISS from Zurich to Porto.
Video Transcript
All right. It’s Monday morning, and we’re on the way to the airport for the first time in probably almost four months.
Today we’re taking all kinds of transportation. We’ll take a bus and a train and, ultimately, plane to fly to Porto. I’m curious to see if anything has really changed when it comes to flying. I would assume we need a bit more buffer at the airport because there might be additional testing on both ends. But other than that, I expect it to be pretty much the same except for, of course, everyone is wearing masks now.
Elena is trying to get ahead a few steps to … challenge! But it’s easier done when you are not carrying luggage.
So far, no changes from the other trips except for the masks that have been called mandatory in Switzerland. I think like a couple of weeks ago, the same goes for the airport and flights. Not sure if it’s a law there, or if it’s just a recommendation, but of course, more people wear masks than less the virus will spread.
Now I’m really curious to see if the airport is all empty or there are people around.
Ready.
It seems I haven’t flown for that long. There is a new airline called CH Air. I’ve never heard of it. So things have changed. In terms of people, I’d say there’s definitely a lot fewer people than usual, but it’s not like empty here.
As you can see the Swiss Airlines. When I was doing airforce service in the last few weeks, we actually had a lot of Swiss short toll fleet station extras or parked. It’s good at least to see the planes back at the airport. You know not all of them are flying in full capacity.
All right. We got off the plane. I think the only thing that was different most is that there was no food serving. It served beverages. And then, of course, wearing the mask constantly is the longest time I’ve gone with a mask is not strictly necessary, but definitely recommended.
The baggage claim area is completely empty.
All right, so now we’re starting our journey to Braga, where we will spend the next few days. And with that, have a beautiful day, stay curious, and we will talk to you soon.
