Masks everywhere! That’s how travelling in 2020 looks like. I went on a short trip to experience it myself. I flew from Hamburg  over Paris to Nice and from there to Faro (Portugal) and after a few days back home to Bremen (Germany). This post only describes my personal experiences of how travelling has changed after the pandemic.

Usually it’s no problem for me to take the 2,5 hours train to get to the airport, wait there for one more hour and then sit in a plane for several hours – but with a mask on that’s a lot! Especially when it’s 30°C outside. But it was definitely worth the feeling I had when the plane was finally taking off and when I got to see the world from above again. 

The airports in Germany were basically empty, it took me one minute to go through security. Paris was more crowded and there were more restrictions at the airport. Every other seat had to be free and of course you have to wear your mask at all times. Some airlines checked the temperatures of every passenger before entering the plane, others didn’t allow self-made face masks. They would only let you on board with a clinical face mask (great for the environment by the way 🙄). Some airlines also changed their baggage policies due to Covid so make sure to re-check them before leaving. On most of the flights the cabins were halfway empty but on one flight it was super crowded. 

In Nice and in other cities in France it’s mandatory to wear a face mask in the whole city – even on the streets and even at the beach.

In Portugal the restrictions were not as strict as in France, they were basically the same as in Germany: Face masks in shops, bars and restaurants. A cool thing I saw in Faro were the hand desinfection stations in the streets sponsored by the city. You could find them on every corner and even at the beach.

Anyways, the beaches as well as the bars were open and crowded in both countries.

So yes, the pandemic has definitely changed travelling but it might not be only in a bad way. Of course a lot of travel companies, hotels etc. fight hard to survive the crisis but on the other hand people travel more sustainable now. They only travel to local places and use to plane only if necessary which I think can be a good thing for the environment. Also, masks will accompany us for a long time now so I think it’s important to lookout for sustainable alternatives.