So, international travel in the time of Covid. It’s different. And the same.
Cleveland Hopkins airport is technically an international airport, but their international direct-flight offerings are quite limited (Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Dominican Republic), so in the past I’ve flown to London via Toronto, Detroit, and Chicago. This time I flew via JFK airport in New York, in my opinion the most confusing airport ever designed. Signage, people! Travelers need frequent, easy to read signage! When I landed in JFK, the departures monitor did not show a gate number for my next flight. When I asked a random gate agent how I could find out my gate, she looked at my ticket and said, “Oh, you’re flying with British Airways! You’ll have to go to Terminal 7. To get there you will need to go on the AirTrain. You see that corridor down there off to the right? Go down there until you see TSA and then you’ll see a sign for the AirTrain.” I should note right here that there was no overhead or otherwise signage saying anything to the effect of “This way to Terminal 7” or “This way to the AirTrain”. None. A nice gentleman from my first flight, without much English language under his belt, apparently had the same issue as me, overheard my conversation with the agent, and decided to become my travel buddy. We followed the agent’s directions and found…no signs to Terminal 7. So I asked a security guard. He sent us further on our way. As did another random airport worker a little bit further along. We finally reached the AirTrain, along with a college-aged young woman frantically talking to her parents on her cell phone about how lost she was, and – I kid you not – a flight crew who sort-of had an idea where we were going. A nice lady on the platform at the AirTrain then told us which doors would actually open when the AirTrain arrived. When I reached Terminal 7 I realized that I had left the secure part of the airport and had to go through security again. You just have to laugh!
This semi-rant about missing or inadequate signage becomes important for a later blog post, my love letter to the London Underground, known as The Tube.
So, back to traveling in the time of Covid. I can’t give any specific travel guidance as the requirements of every country are unique. I can just tell you what my experience traveling to the UK was, which will give you somewhat of a feeling for it.
You’re no doubt accustomed to traveling with some form of ID and perhaps a visa. Traveling nowadays requires a bit more documentation than that. In order to fly to the UK from the United States (and avoid quarantine upon arrival) I had to show proof of my vaccination status – the actual card, not a picture taken on my phone. One of Chris’ coworkers on the job he’s doing now thought he just needed a photo of the card. Nope. He was not allowed to fly until he could produce the card. British Airways (and so I presume other airlines as well) does have an App called Verifly that I did not know about on my way over. With Verifly you can upload all of your documentation ahead of time and then just show the App status to the ticketing agents when you check in. I used Verifly on my way back home and while it wasn’t highly intuitive to upload all of my stuff, I did figure it out eventually. And it saved me a lot of pulling out paperwork in the airport.
So, vaccination status was needed to enter the UK, as well as a very detailed passenger locator form. On the form I had to show proof that I had scheduled and paid for a Covid test within the first 2 days of my arrival in the UK. If this all sounds a bit overwhelming, I do have to say that the British government has a very easy-to-use website for international travelers, which has links to government approved testing sites throughout the country. I found one just down the road from my hotel, and went for my test the day I arrived.
Returning to the States, I needed to take a Covid test within 3 days of my flight back and provide proof of a negative test. If I was unlucky and had a positive test? I would have had to stay in the UK ten more days. It was a bit of a nail biter, because although being in London another 10 days sounds great, being quarantined in a London hotel room for 10 days does not. Along with explaining to my boss that I wouldn’t be able to finish that project I was planning to finish upon my return. Luckily, my test was negative. Phew!
So, why risk international travel right now? At this point in my Covid career I feel like I’ve done all I can to minimize the risk to myself and others by becoming fully vaccinated, wearing masks anytime I’m indoors around people, or outdoors in crowded circumstances. When the opportunity came up to join Chris in the UK during his break from work, I knew this was not an opportunity I wanted to miss. We needed the time together as a couple. And frankly, I needed a break from my everyday life.
Plus, I looked at the numbers. In Ohio right now, we have just reached 65.7% of Ohioans over 12 years old having their 1st dose of the vaccine. In England, 88% of the population over 12 are fully vaccinated. I’m actually more likely to run into someone capable of infecting me right here in my very conservative-leaning hometown. Or in my workplace, where not everyone is vaccinated and mask wearing adherence is not always perfect (I’m talking to you, nose-exposers!) A case could actually be made for, “Michelle, why would you expose those poor Brits to your Ohio-based immune system?”
So, testing – I was tested twice in the space of 5 days (at my own expense, of course!). Masks – mask-wearing was mandatory on all public transportation, from when I entered Cleveland airport to when I left the Tube station near my hotel. I was lucky that both of my flights in both directions were not full and I always had an empty seat next to me. And I only encountered one “arsehole” on the entire trip – a twenty-something drunk male who refused to wear his mask on the flight from London to Philadelphia. I’m not sure what the outcome of that was – the flight attendants (who deserve medals, all of them!) dealt with him calmly and quietly.
Hand sanitizer – I had to travel by air a couple of times when I was in treatment for cancer and had asked my oncologist at the time if I should wear a mask. I will never forget what she told me. She said that the biggest threat to me was not airborne but was on the extremely filthy surfaces in airports and airplanes. Now, I know that these days surface disinfection is quite rigorous (or should be!), but still I wiped down the armrests, tray, etc upon taking any seat in the airport or on the plane. I do realize that Covid is primarily an airborne threat, but I also am of the “it can’t hurt” mindset for taking precautions.
I had a great time in the UK and will tell you all about it in the next few posts, which I will write this week!
I do have a couple of recommendations if you are traveling long distances during this pandemic. First, wearing a mask for upwards of 12 hours is reaaaaaallllly uncomfortable on the ears. I wish I would have bought one of the many products out there for protecting your ears when wearing a mask. There are an amazing array of them if you go on Amazon or Etsy (look at the clever ones here, here, and here) . Do yourself a favor – get one. My second recommendation is to buy a combination passport/immunization card holder. You can get one for less than $10 (like this one) and it gave me quite a bit of peace of mind knowing that my immunization card was protected from wear-and-tear and was also easily accessed.
Ok, my friends! I will put this post to bed and start my next one – that love letter to the Tube that I mentioned earlier. 🙂
Love,
Michelle xoxo