The purpose of this blog post is to share my experience traveling during the pandemic and to help others plan their travel.
My family and I left London to go to Duluth, Minnesota to be with family. This is how my trip went:
We arrived at Heathrow Airport. It was the first time that we were putting on our masks. They were uncomfortable, to say the least. In the airport, everyone was acting weird. No one was talking and everyone seemed stressed. I was feeling like I was in a doctor’s office where everyone is wearing gloves and masks. And, for the records, I hate being in doctor’s offices.
The line to enter the airport was the biggest line throughout the trip (the picture is down below). It moved fast because all they were doing was making sure you had a mask on. It only took 5min. After we made it inside the airport we had to check our bags. It was fast and took us a little less than 10min for a family of five that had lots of luggage. The people who were checking our luggage told us that there were only going to be 50 people on the flight that can hold 250 people. That meant that the plane ride was only going to be one-fifth full! We got to security and it was surprisingly normal. There were small lines and all three of the security belts were open. We were done surprisingly quickly.
After Security, my mom was looking for some books to buy (she always buys tons of books at the airport!) but the problem was that there were only two stores open and in one of the lines, there were 130 people. My mom counted. My suggestion is that you bring your own food and snacks. You can never pack too many! We were early so we went to the gate. No train was operating so we had to walk. At the terminal, we just sat and waited till they finally said we could board.
The rule was that we had to have our mask on during the entire airplane, but given that there weren’t any people around us the crew were nice and let us keep the masks off unless they came near us. They offered us two meals. It was all on one tray. My dad tried the food and said it was really disgusting. I was really, really glad I had made my own sandwich prior to getting on board. The plane landed and we were one hour early.
On the airplane, we had to fill out a special form stating that we had not been sick and asking where we had traveled. Once we arrived a team from the CDC met the plane and asked the crew if “anyone on the airplane had asked for medical attention”. The immigration area was really empty. The machines did not work so we had to go to the immigration officer. Then we had to go to a special area where they checked our temperature and gave us a card with a QR code to scan if we got sick.
When we got to Detroit the airport was empty. You could finally take your mask off except in McDonald’s. Everyone in our family was so happy to be able to breathe easily again even for a few minutes. We felt OK about it since there weren’t many people around. We found a corner where we were far away from everyone. At the airport most of the restaurants were open and you could finally get a good meal. I got spicy ramen noodles and gyoza. Yummy! My brother and sister went to McDonald’s. At McDonald’s they asked us to wear masks. In the restaurant, the server also wore a mask.
It was three hours till our next flight took off so it was nice to finally have a break. We boarded our next flight feeling good. The plane to Minneapolis from Detroit had a lot more passengers. It was full. The seating configuration was that there are six seats across and one person would sit in every other seat. They gave us a bag with snacks and water. The flight crew wore masks and on this flight, we kept our masks on the entire time.
We stayed overnight at a hotel close to the airport. The shuttle bus driver was so excited to see us. The hotel was almost empty so they gave us an extra room for free. Now I didn’t have to fight with my brother and sister about who got to choose beds first! We had a full view of the airport from our window. It was weird to see almost no planes in such a big airport. We got to eat breakfast in the restaurant. Our first restaurant meal in months! We had to eat very well because we were going to have a three-hour car ride. The bacon was so good.
After 30min of driving, we arrived at Snack Central. Trader Joe’s. We were so excited we jumped out of the car and rushed to the store. They sent us back to get our masks and get in line. We couldn’t wait to get into the store. When we got in we ran around the store and got tons of snacks! Everyone got their favorite snacks and for once, my mom told us that we could get whatever we wanted. After a long day of traveling, we arrived at Duluth. It was such a great feeling even though we were incredibly jet-lagged. It was wonderful to be with my family. In addition to their dog Basil, our cousins have a new cat called Art who is sometimes called FART!
That was my experience of traveling during coronavirus. I hope this helps you plan your trip!
Thanks for this very helpful information. We are traveling from London to the US I’m a few weeks, and now I know to bring my own food and masks!
I absolutely loved reading about your adventure! Thank you for sharing your experience, suggestions and photos. Enjoy your time in MN!
Very well written. Thank you for sharing your exeprience. It is helpful as we plan our trip back to the states for college drop off in August. I am jealous that you were able to go to Trader Joes. It is one of the things I miss the most.
Ann-Marie Cascarino
Running friend of your mom
Hi Randev,
I hope you’re okay that I read your blog entry about traveling internationally during Coronavirus! I found it to be really helpful and similar to our trip from London to Minneapolis. We will definitely be stopping at Trader Joes at some point while we’re here… thanks to your recommendation. Enjoy Duluth! We will be passing thru there to get to northern Minnesota, mid-July. If we don’t run into you, say hello to everyone in your family from all of the Iannazzos! 😁
Fantastic post Randev! I love your descriptions and your sense of humor 🙂 Please keep writing, glad to have news of the family through your eyes and your writing!
Xx
Stephanie
Wow, a fantastic post Randev. I really enjoyed your journal and all the anecdotes. You are a very good writer. And what a trip! One to remember for a long while! Great tips also. I will also prepare our sandwiches for when we fly to Greece. I am so glad your mum forwarded the link to me. Have a wonderful summer. And looking forward to meeting you properly in the autumn. Best, Ioanna
Such a great, informative and entertaining account of your trip! You write so well and are clearly a very experienced traveler. I look forward to reading more about your summer adventures…
xx Jeannette
What snacks did you pick up at TJs? Get some orange chicken?!
I loved reading this Malli, I’m sure many will find this very helpful. Hope to read more of your travel documentaries in future! Have a great time visiting your family!!
💖Auntie Aruni
(From Sri Lanka)
What a great report, Rondev ! I felt like I was on the plane and changing planes in Detroit with you and your family. Nice photos, too, to back up your narrative. Be looking forward to your reports on what you did in Duluth.
Throughly enjoyed reading your blog. Looking forward to more more your travels. Great pics too! Hope you all have an amazing time.
Such a beautiful post. I really like Trader Joe’s snacks too.
Have fun in Duluth. Will you go swimming in Lake Superior?
Hi Randev
I enjoyed reading your blog so much. You were so little when I last saw you in Pasadena. Hope to see you all soon and safe travels. Hope Ziggy wont miss you too much but he must be used to you traveling all the time. Take care and love to the rest of the family😚 Aunty Naddy
An excellent insight into air travel in these difficult times. Good to hear you got there ok.
Will definitely take your advice and pack snacks and sandwiches next time we fly!
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