This is a question on everyone’s mind. When are we going to be able to travel again and is it safe to travel again?
Well, depends on where you live, but if we’re generalising – then no, it is definitely not safe to travel again unless it is urgent.
A good friend of mine was telling me the other day, “I will be booking the first flight out the moment travel opens up.” While, one of my friends has been working remotely from Europe – taking a flight during the pandemic, because she got ‘bored’ working at home. So, travel is possible, but should we really be doing it right now and is it really safe?
READ MORE: Traveller Ranjenee shares her COVID-19 travel story
With over 48 million cases worldwide leading to over 1.2 million deaths, the impact of the pandemic will be felt for years to come.
As we cautiously move ahead and see local and some limited international travel start to reopen, we thought it would be a good idea to share some insights on what’s coming up next so people can be prepared.
Travel will not be the same
We can realistically expect there to be significant changes to how we travel, especially given the uncertainties and varying COVID-19 case numbers across the world. So as we ask the question – is it safe to travel again – here are five things that will be different once travel reassumes:
- Long queues: Don’t be surprised by long immigration queues due to increased demand, lower supply and enhanced screening.
- Expensive flights: With lower supply, we can reasonably expect ticket prices to go up – by how much is the real question.
- Increased cancellations and delays: Countries and airlines will have a no-tolerance policy to everything and passenger safety will be paramount, so expect a cancellation or at least a delay, if there is an issue.
- Options will be limited: Travelling to Asia? No problem, but maybe pick one location or city rather than your usual five stops in the region. The regulations and travel restrictions will open up at wildly different rates.
- Cleanliness will beat the price: Expect airlines to promote enhanced sanitisation of the plane rather than the price of the ticket
So, even if we are prepared, when will we actually be able to travel again.
When a COVID-19 vaccine is available
A vaccine, in theory, should help reduce the spread of the virus making it easier to open up safer travel. This does not mean that is an immediate solution to the global travel restrictions as testing, distribution, cost and more can hinder its usage across the world.
Once governments declare borders open
This may not hinge on the vaccine, but can be a method to restart the economy across the world. While this is a good sign and often a result of sustained control of the pandemic, we highly suggest caution when booking your ticket. It is important to stay tuned to the international news and to ask yourself – is it safe to travel again?
There is nothing stopping the reinstating of travel bans is there is another wave of the virus.
The official end of the pandemic
This is probably the safest time to restart travel, but is likely also many months away. We can reasonably expect that one day the global and local authorities will be able to declare that the pandemic is no longer in effect and has been held in check. This does not mean the eradication of COVID-19, but is likely that it is a mixture of multiple factors like a vaccine, lowering cases of infections and more that will lead to an end to the pandemic.
We recommend waiting to heat from official sources like the World Health Organisation or your official Health Ministries in your country.
As my friend regularly says, “I am not dying because I wanted to eat Pad Thai on the pavement, its not worth it”. So we have to continue to ask the right questions – rather than lament that we miss travel, stay tuned to news so and ask ‘Is it safe to travel again?’
I recently checked in with my friend who travelled to Europe and she said its safe, she’s following the rules and has smartly picked countries with low infection rates and tighter regulations for travel.
However, we can’t all be like here and are looking forward to a wider reopening of the borders. We highly recommend seeking approval and information from reputable and official sources before making a decision to travel and we wish you a safe journey whenever and wherever you are able to go.
