Recently, I found myself in a position where I had to take a flight across the country. Because of a family emergency with my grandparents, I decided to fly with my mother to New York City for a week to help take care of them. For days, I wrestled with the anxiety of flying during a pandemic, but ultimately I realized that letting my mother fly alone was something I would regret. On the bright side, I would be able to see my friends in NYC, though it was a small consolation.
I watched endless YouTube videos on other people’s experiences flying during the pandemic to get a firmer grasp of what airports looked like and what kind of safety measures would be in place. In addition to all of that madness, I spent days on Amazon looking for KN95 and different surgical masks. Comparing and contrasting reviews and mask hacks was mentally exhausting but comforting.
A high standard of care and cleanliness was super important to me in my search for airlines. When I first booked my flight with United Airlines, I realized after more research that they didn’t block off seats on the plane. While they required masks, I panicked at the thought that I could have multiple people squished next to me on a 5-6 hour flight. Eventually, I ended up booking with Delta because they were committed to blocking off middle seats until January 2021. I spent hours finding, selecting and switching seats until I found two my mother and I could feel safe in. Pro tip: avoid aisle seats and those close to restrooms. The foot traffic back and forth can be riskier than other places on board. I also found out that planes have hospital grade HEPA air filters that catch 99.97% of airborne particles, so while the risk of catching coronavirus is still not zero, it is greatly reduced, especially with Delta’s mandatory mask policy. The morning of my flight, I donned two protective layers of surgical masks and a face shield as I headed to LAX.
