This morning was my first flight post pandemic. My last flight home to London was nineteen months ago, from Cuba the only country that would fly passengers home from the COVID-19 stricken cruise ship I was stranded in the Caribbean on.
I thought that International travel would be a bit further on than it was. London Gatwick was so quiet. The North Terminal is the only one operating. The normally bustling South Terminal is still closed. Strange to drive past and see it empty.
The Travel Lodge I stayed in the night before due to an early flight, normally a hive of activity, full of passengers coming and going was dead. I felt like I was the only guest in the building!
My early morning flight was the quickest I have ever got through. I expected to be delayed with long queues while everyone’s paperwork was checked at each end. I was asked a lot if I had filled in a Passenger Locator form and if I was vaccinated, but at no time, London or Dublin, did I have to produce any proof.
It was a quick and easy transit through both ends, but it was also sad to see such a vibrant and exciting space so empty and lacking vitality. For me a bustling airport was part of the excitement of the impending holiday. It was missing. International travel is far from getting back to normal.
Milly Space 