Flying during a global pandemic is anything but easy. Hopping on a plane and going on holiday looks and feels quite different than it did at the beginning of 2020. Although airlines are taking all sorts of precautionary measures and trying to do their best to prevent the spread of COVID-19, flying can still be a risky business.
You spend a lot of time in airport terminals, touch all sorts of popular touch points and come in close contact with other people, increasing your risk of exposure to infection. According to the CDC, “staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19”. But if you really need to travel by plane, for whatever reason, avoid making these 6 terrible mistakes!
Being the first on the plane
Being among the first people boarding the plane feels like a privilege of some sort; or at least it used to be before the coronavirus changed everything, including the way we feel about flying. Nowadays, if you want to be safe, it’s better to be among the last passengers boarding a plane instead of the first ones.
“Try to board the plane last, after the line has thinned, so you’re not stuck waiting in a tight space with lots of other people as they board,” said Jonathan Fielding, professor of public health and pediatrics at University of California, Los Angeles, and chair of the U.S. Task Force on Community Preventive Services.
To make sure passengers comply with social distancing rules, Delta Airlines has started boarding flights from back to front and passengers are required to wait at the gate until their row is called.
