As the months passed, it was time for me to leave Indonesia and get back to Greece. To travel you always have to book a ticket first. This normally easy procedure, was filled with a lot of stress and endless nights looking for flights, prices and restrictions on Skyscanner. Booking a ticket from the other half of the world back to mine, was no easy feat with airlines announcing flights and then cancelling them, flight restrictions to countries changing all the time, nobody being able to give a definitive answer to where I can actually fly and prices skyrocketing out of nowhere. In the midst of this chaos, I figured that one week should be enough time to book my ticket with it not having such a high chance of being cancelled. So I did and soon enough my short three day trip from Samarinda to Jakarta, then Doha, then Amsterdam then Athens and finally Thessaloniki began.
I expected this trip to be much different from all my others. The thing that was definitely different was the fact that I had to be wearing a mask for the majority of the trip and always be on edge with my sanitizer on hand worrying for any potential sources of infections. The mask was not, however as annoying as I expected, after a while I was not even realizing it was on. The airport personnel, when there, was also equipped with the appropriate gear, although it very much differ from airport to airport and airline to airline, with the Qatar Airways flight attendants in full suits and the Transavia ones with just feeble masks. The airports were for the most part empty and kinda sad. I was walking completely alone at Schiphol airport at night, after all the night flights had already flown, which is one of the most busy airports in the world.
Anxiety was at an all time high for this trip. I was also full of nerves after arriving at Jakarta Airport to see around 90% of the flights cancelled and nearly had a heart attack before I made sure that mine would actually go. I was also to the brick of a bursting aneurysm waiting to be let in Amsterdam after landing there in order to check in my bag again. Apart for my nerves however, the truth is, flights and life in the airport was mostly going on as normal. Yes most stores were closed and looked abandoned, but generally there were not many checks or questions or forms to fill as I expected. With Batik Air and Qatar Airways the middle seat was empty in order for social distancing I guess, although one middle seat does not seem enough space, but whatever. Transavia and Aegean Airlines were at full capacity though. Athens International Airport seemed to have taken most precautions, as we were all tested before entering, we had to wear masks at all times and sanitizer was freely given everywhere. Although I have to mention, that there is no point in wearing a mask, if it barely covers your mouth, let alone your nose, which was a style many people seemed to follow. Wear your masks properly people! For Indonesian domestic flight we also had to be tested and take some precaution before flying but it felt more like security theater rather than actual protection as people were stacked when they had to take the appropriate forms before flying.
In general, the biggest obstacle for flying during a pandemic was the irregular flights and the fear of cancelling, rather than the actual virus. Flights are full, people are generally acting normal and you fly like you did before, just with the addition of a mask. Is there a future for traveling, then? Probably, but possibly not a very regular, soon and who knows who will actually financially survive in the end in the industry. Anyway, happy traveling, whenever that would be and here is to hoping it is soon.
The Indonesian Chronicles 