After many months of no travel, I just completed a short trip to Bengaluru. I travelled by air on the return journey.

Much has been done by the government and airlines to bring back flyers. But my advice would be to undertake air travel only if unavoidable.

Pre-boarding

Take Bengaluru airport: From the point of entry, till lining up at the departure gates, it has passenger movement under control. There is a thermal scan when you join a queue to enter the airport. At the entry point, the security personnel do not handle your phone, print-out or ID. Instead, they stand behind an acrylic panel and verify your documents. Inside the airport, there are self-operated kiosks that can dish out your boarding pass and baggage tags. Baggage check-in at the counter is smooth. Staff at the counter are shielded by a transparent glass barrier and don’t physically handle your luggage. The hall itself looks busy but not too crowded. The flight departures display looks impressive with a number of flights scheduled. From the point of entry till security check, physical distance is managed reasonably well with space marked on the floor wherever queues are expected. Hand sanitizer is placed within easy reach.

Security check is a breeze. It is a strange sight to see security personnel wearing PPE, that resembles images of people tackling dangerous materials or contagious infections. The scanner is waved head to toe, front and back; no physical contact. In the departure lounge, there is ample seating available, without having to worry about rubbing shoulders with someone seated next to you or have a neighbour peer over to peek at what you are reading or viewing on the phone. I saw seats being wiped, and the attempt to keep surfaces clean and safe is visible. The odd idiot with a mask protecting just the chin streaked past, but most covered at least their mouth, if not the nose too. I felt that there was a sense of space and safety because of the limited number of flights. If the airport got busier, I would feel less and less safe.

Physical distancing was compromised at three points:

One, at the boarding gate. People queued up, abandoning physical distancing. More than once, the distance I tried to maintain with the person in front of me was breached by someone unthinkingly coming in between. They probably thought I was weird, leaving a yawning gap in the queue.

Two, in the airport coach. It was crowded. I am not sure why the airline stuck to the usual way of packing people into coaches. Well, it was not as bad as it was before Covid times, but it was certainly not expected after all the precautions taken thus far. The coach doors were closed when in motion, and as it happens, the coach travelled quite a distance before reaching the aircraft’s parking bay. This worried me.

Three, as expected, inside the aircraft – an Airbus A320, with a 3×3 seating configuration. The flight was nearly full. The cabin crew had been instructed not to handle passenger baggage. So, no more helpful stacking, pushing, shoving, and packing of bags in the overhead bins. I could almost sense crew members’ joy, ‘Sorry Sir, we are not allowed to touch passengers’ bags’. The unsaid – ‘Deal with your own shit, guys’.

Then, I don’t quite get the logic of full-body PPE, worn compulsorily by those in the middle seats. It didn’t reassure me one bit. I think those in the middle rows were safest. Maybe that was the idea. Some marketing whiz’s genius to make middle seats popular. But it seemed to me that those seated by the window and the aisle risked exposure in spite of the mask, the face shield and sanitizer sachets (no, they are not shampoo sachets) doled out when boarding.

Worse, on cue, when the plane’s descent began and cabin pressure changes began to be felt, the inevitable yawns followed. I imagined viruses being released involuntarily, uncontrollably – an invisible fog, enveloping all. This was scary. When it was time to get off the aircraft, people rushed to the exit doors, crowding out good sense and safety. My speculation is that people were sitting scared during the entire duration of the flight and couldn’t wait to get away from the confines of the aircraft.

The e-pass requirement in Chennai remains. You need to upload documents (ticket, ID) that are not bulky, and addresses. Getting one online was easy. I am convinced that it should stay.

It was a short flight, but the journey itself involves many hours and multiple surfaces touched. We suffer the stupidity of people who still don’t get it and either don’t wear proper masks or wear them improperly. We don’t bring forth our belligerent selves and demand that people around us take seriously their responsibility for our safety. Maybe that is reserved for other spaces, other modes of transport or other causes.

This post also appeared on my Facebook page.

Image: Marco Verch under Creative Commons 2.0.