What it feels like traveling during the COVID-19 (Corona Virus) outbreak

The Corona Virus (Covid-19) outbreak has made many to state that the year 2020 is not our year. The pandemic doesn’t seem to be getting better anytime soon. With nations on total lockdown, schools and businesses shutting down, travel bans here and there, and so on.

With all these havoc going on, I went on a quest to document what it feels like traveling during this outbreak that has made billions of people to either be currently practicing social distancing, isolating, or self-quarantine just to name a few things.

In this post I narrate my experience traveling during this outbreak that has crippled nations, businesses, aviation industries, families, and so on.

My journey started from Walnut Creek California, but with a flight out of San Francisco (SFO) Airport. Thank goodness the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) was still operating. While there was no early morning rush, it was still business as usual with the train being a 10-car 2 door train. Although with most of the car train being almost empty.

On getting to San Francisco (SFO) airport, the airport was a ghost town. Although there were still a few people at different terminals, but most of the airlines self / check in counters were empty.

The TSA had recently announced they would be allowing travelers carry any size hand sanitizers as they pass through security. I was able to take my 4fl oz (120 ml) hand sanitizer through security checkpoint hassle free.

With limited time before my flight which departs out of terminal 2, for the sake of this quest I quickly visited the Centurion Lounge by American Express located at Terminal 3. You can read more about the Centurion Lounge by American Express SFO here

It wasn’t surprising that the lounge was dry and empty with only about 4 other passengers in the lounge. To avoid having contact with anyone, I had utilized the online self check in service via the AmEx mobile app prior to my arrival at the lounge. With that, I didn’t have to handover my credit card to anyone at the member service desk upon arrival. And by doing so, I was able to avoid any sort of handshake or whatsoever.

While restaurants at SFO terminals are open, it was also not surprising that there were  barely 2 people in any of those restaurants as at the time I visited which is usually the time you’ll find business and other travelers trying to get to their respective destinations.

At this point I was running out of time so I quickly head to Terminal 2 where my Alaska flight AS1902 is departing from. Terminal 2 which serves both Alaska Airline and American Airlines was also empty with again only a few passengers.

20 minutes before departure, the Alaska Airline gate attendant called my cellphone to confirm if I was still traveling on that flight. Since boarding gate is usually closed 10 minutes before departure. At this time, I was already approaching the gate.

Surprisingly, there were only 10 passengers onboard this Airbus A320 Rafts that usually carries around about 150 passengers. With myself and 2 other passengers in First Class, and the remaining 7 in main cabin. I can not imagine how many billions of dollars the aviation industry has lost in this short period of time.

But each and everyone onboard did had a great flight during that 1 hour 15 minutes flight from San Francisco to Las Vegas. And thanks to Alaska Airlines for the complimentary First Class upgrade as always. One of the perks of being MVP Gold 75K (the highest status on Alaska Airline).

On arrival in Vegas, the gate E12 was empty. The same flight would be heading to Los Angeles from Vegas and then back to San Francisco with or without passengers.

And while most of the the other boarding gates at the E gates were almost empty at 9:00am when we arrived, it was amazing seeing JetBlue flight 178 departing from Gate E10 heading to Boston to have had a lot of passengers waiting to board.

Every other gates at the E terminal was empty with only a few passengers waiting for their respective flights.

As LAS airport is known as one of the few airports in the world where you’ll find slot machines at the airport, these slot machines barely had 2 people on them.

While it was still business as usual at TSA checkpoints, there were only a few people going through security.

This quest did not come to an end immediately after arriving at the airport. I proceeded to check out The Club at LAS. The Club lounges offers a place where you can relax and escape from the hustle and bustle of busy airport terminals. As at when I arrived at the lounge, there were more staff than guests. But this lounge was the best The Club lounge I have ever visited. You can read more about The Club at LAS 

In Conclusion:

As I round off on this quest, I must say it’s really a difficult time at the moment. The entire world is in panic, not knowing what will happen next or if the Corona Virus has reached its peak. This global problem has forced many to lose their jobs, millions of children out of schools, the aviation industry has been hit so bad, there are panics among many, I can go on and on. 

But our thoughts and prayers are with as many that has been impacted or affected in any way, especially those that are sick, got laid off, or on unpaid leave due to this global pandemic.

And to those few that are still working, doing all they can to ensure the safety of many, we salute you and we say thank you for all your service. We are in this together, and we cannot wait for this trouble to be all over.

While it’s not safe to travel during this time, we followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. We took personal precautionary measures, and we were very vigilant of our environments during this trip. 

Disclaimer: We do not encourage you to do any non-essential travels during this time. But if you decide to travel, take precautionary measures to protect yourself. Wash your hands often, avoid close contact, clean and disinfect, be vigilant, or better yet just stay home.

You can learn more about ways to protect yourself and your families by visiting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.