Moving Home in a Pandemic

If you haven’t heard already (and you must be new because I haven’t shut up about it), I decided to return home in the midst of all of this chaos. For the last time, I’ve stress packed my life into three suitcases and moved across an ocean.

This time, it’s in the middle of a pandemic. 

I decided to document everything by picture because it’s a) the most bizarre experience I’ve ever had and b) a lot of people have been asking me about it.

I flew Manchester to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to Toronto.

My friend graciously dropped me off at Manchester Airport, and we were both shocked at the empty parking lot. Manchester Airport is the third busiest airport in the UK, so it’s normally teeming with people and suitcases. Instead, it was a ghost town.

There was only the few check-in desks open and they were for my actual flight. Again, the line is normally very full and you’re standing shoulder to shoulder with people. Not this time. I listened to a lot of the conversations, and it seems like a majority of people travelling are doing it for work (unlike me with the two massive suitcases that I had to pay overweight fees for).

Getting through security was a breeze. There was no line at all. I had three security agents waving me down to go to their section. When have you ever not been yelled at to “wait there” or “move to the next open person.”

My two travel buddies can attest to the fact that I always have issues with security, but this took maybe two minutes tops. AND that includes the fact that my bag was checked (every. Single. Time.) for the water bottles in it.

The travel board had three flights showing up. Three. Let me reiterate – this is the THIRD BUSIEST airport in the UK. At one point, it got to a whopping four flights.

None of the shops were open. No one was wandering around. There was no duty free. Again, ghost town.

I will mention at this point that I was required to wear both a mask and gloves. If you have more comfortable gloves, bring them. I had sandwich bag gloves given to me and they are so sticky and uncomfortable. None of the other airports required them, so I took them off as soon as I could and sanitized my hands a little more.

This was the picture I put on my personal Instagram with the caption “But where will I sit?” I had my pick of spots. There was only one section open for passengers, and everyone was socially distanced sitting apart. It was dead quiet and very eerie.

When have you ever been able to find a place to charge your phone without having to walk half the airport? This is was an absolute luxury.

When the gate opened, people were spread out all over the place. It was one person per seat and the line was very long and stretched out because they were all socially distanced.

Normally, there’s a lot of activity going on on the airport tarmac - lots of people and golf carts and cars busy all over the place. Here, I could see no one else.

Instead of a snack service, there was a little sandwich already on our seats. This was a small plane with only four seats across, and it was a full slight. Everyone had to keep their masks on. I slept the whole flight.

The Amsterdam airport was just as empty as Manchester. There was a small food kiosk open, but that’s it.

There were a lot of people by the gate, but everyone had to be socially distanced. I thought that the tape was there to show that you could not sit in certain places, but it was there to show where people were allowed to sit.

I don’t think this picture is as clear as I thought it was, but this was the line for boarding. If you look closely, you can see people beyond the pillars. That’s where flight attendants asked if you were showing any symptoms. I was in the line, and it snaked around so many corners before you could actually board. 

There was no food service on this flight either. Instead, you got a bag full of all of your snacks and food on your seat. There were a ton of options, and even two little cans of Coke. You could also get up and see the flight attendants at the back if you wanted additional drinks. Overall, the flight wasn’t out of the ordinary. There were a ton of families, so I couldn’t tell if it was busy or if they were putting seats in between people. There was a space in between me and the person on the aisle.

My dad picked me up in Toronto Pearson Airport, and the arrivals area was just as empty as Manchester departures was. I could see my dad right away, and it usually takes a while to search the faces in the crowd. The day after I got in, the rules changed and you’re no longer allowed to wait inside the airport, so we’re lucky to have had that chance.

When we left, it was another rather empty parking lot. Papa got a spot right outside the waiting area, but we had to walk a long way to get to a designated exit door. It was annoying. The parking spot was great, and he said it didn’t take long to park at all!

This post is simultaneously one of the most interesting and least interesting posts I’ve ever written. It’s something to remember, that’s for sure.

If you have any questions about my experiences, please reach out!

-Daniella