What flying is really like at the moment....

You may well know that Portugal is one of my favourite places in the world. Not being able to visit my own little sunny hideaway for many months felt very odd, but clearly it was the sensible thing to do during the height of the pandemic. As soon as I felt safe enough to travel to Portugal I had no hesitation in booking my flight. As I write, there have been 15 deaths overall in the Algarve since Covid-19 began, and that made my decision a relatively easy one given the way things seem to be playing out in the UK.

The one thing I knew was definitely going to be strange was the flight out here, and I thought it was worth sharing my experiences for anyone else thinking of travelling in the coming weeks and months. I took an early morning flight on easyJet, and on arrival at Manchester airport I couldn't believe there wasn't one other car there. For July, normally the height of the holiday season, it was quite a remarkable sight. 

I popped my mask on (mandatory from the moment you enter the terminal until the time you exit the airport at your final destination - aside from when you're eating and drinking) and on entering the terminal it was the same ghost town at the arrival desks. I had only hand baggage, so went straight to departures, stopping at the body temperature scanner as I walked by. I had pre-booked a slot at security - Manchester Airport are doing this free of charge at the moment, but to be honest I didn't need it as I was able to walk straight up to a security desk and was through in a couple of minutes. 

Due to the lack of passengers, there are not many places open at the airport - Boots; WH Smith; duty free and a couple of places to get something to eat, but that's it. The other shops were all closed, so there was certainly no need to get to the airport super early! Travellers were passing time wandering around an empty terminal in their masks. When we were called to the gate, I could tell my flight was going to be a quiet one - perfect! easyJet boarded us early, so there were no queues at the gate.

I asked the flight attendant how many people were on board - just 74 people on a 186 seater aircraft. That's what I call social distancing! I got a row to myself, and there was no one behind me or in front of me - the perfect scenario. As it was an early flight, as soon as the plane was up in the air, I settled down for a sleep, and that also helped me forget about my mask for a while!

I have to admit I've never been so happy to land in Portugal! Flying over the familiar salt flats, and seeing the lovely sand and clear water along the coastline was a fantastic sight. I wondered if flying during a pandemic was going to be stressful, or surreal. It turned out to be much less stressful than a normal flight at this time of year with the lack of travellers, and much more surreal than I thought it would be because of the empty airport. For some people, flying marks the start of their holiday - and right now you have to expect it to be a very different experience. Once the short flight is over though the sun is still here; the Portuguese are still as welcoming as ever, and after months of lockdown a change of scenery feels so, so good.