To Fly Or Not To Fly

[iloveglee]

Just casting about here for opinions and thoughts on our situation. We have a week's trip booked with our grandchildren, for the october half term, end october running into november. We have flights booked, and paid for and a deposit paid on an apartment.

Currently the airline flying to our destination (gibraltar), is only running 4 times a week, and not on the day we have booked. consequently at some later stage, they may cancel our flight, and what comes after that remains to be seen. Our problem, to have to be considered later next month, is whether to forget the trip, and park our apartment booking until next year.

Our flight can be changed at our instigation for a 'voucher', or we could wait and see if it's cancelled and claim a refund. This however, is not really our main issue, which is, even if its possible to go, should we.

We are a 72/73 year old couple, I don't have any medical conditions to be alarmed about, my husband, although fit, is a)male, b) has hypertension and mild asthma. We are not in a group that needs to be shielded exactly, but we have been exceptionally cautious, no shopping in supermarkets except online, and cleaning or quarantining any packaging. We haven't seen anyone from the family apart from when they brought shopping round in the early lockdown days.

I realise that flying until we have a vaccine, or a treatment is not going to be the experience we are used to. The question I keep asking myself is, do I want to spend 4 hours in an airport prior to flying, standing in line for an unspecified length of time waiting to board, and a 2.5 hour flight, all while having to wear a mask. And then do it all again a week later.

I feel that gibraltar will be a safe destination, they have done a very good job managing this disease, but it's the getting there, and back that is giving me pause for thought. We haven't yet had a discussion with the kids about it, aged between 16 and 18, and although they are desperate for a holiday (aren't we all), should we encourage them to put themselves through what might have to happen.

I don't imagine for a moment that any quarantine will be. in place by then, but of course another uncertain aspect of all this is the possibility of a second wave of the virus.

I am always appreciative of comment that are made on here, and clearly I am not asking anyone to tell me what I should do, but I am interested in what other people, who may be in our situation think.

[iloveglee]

I had been hoping for more normality by October but it depends on what normal is. I suspect governments will still be trying to ensure no second spike happens in the months nearer to the winter, so will trying to make sure people who can't socially distance use other measures such as face masks.

The idea of the face mask for hours makes me feel claustrophic already, i don't even like the bed sheet over my face even when it's cold!! And how they will manage the airport if many people start to fly again i don't know. We are supposed to be travelling from heathrow which can be nightmarish at the best of times.

It's interesting to hear the different perspectives people have. I don't consider us to be especially risk averse, but there are elements of this that make be pause. But - of course there's some time to go yet before we need to make an actual decision.

It's been a useful exercise, especially getting the kids to think about this and consider whether they would actually, this year, prefer to do a summer staycation, keeping away from busy places and make the foreign travel next year when we probably won't have to take any of these issues into consideration. None of us want to take away from the enjoyment of this trip for the sake of putting it off for 9-12 months.

[237SJ]

Since Covid started, I only saw half a dozen people wearing masks during the flight (and that was on long haul flights) I worked on planes with up to 300 people onboard and I didn't get Covid - just saying.

[Samuraisan]

I wouldn't go. The trip will be awful. What on earth are you going to do in Gibraltar for a whole week ? Have you ever been there ? we have decided no air travel until we can fly fearless.

[iloveglee]

To answer the question, have we been to gibraltar, we have on two separate occasions, albeit only for a day each time. The plan was actually to have 3 nights there, the apartment we have booked has a very nice garden/pool area, and we planned to hike on the rock for at least a full day, day and a half. Then we were off to Spain for the rest of the week!!

Having put this in a group to the kids, their views, surprisingly to me were very similar to the majority on this thread. Do they really want to have to be wearing a mask for long periods if that's how things work out, being in the airport potentially for twice the length as usual, and the possibility of a sudden downturn in the situation, as who knows when, or even if we'll get a second spike. For the sake of parking it, and going next year.

I am not a joyous flyer, i'm not especially scared of flying but find it exceedingly stressful, both on board, and in the airport. so adding to that??

We then thought of going somewhere in the summer, if that turns out to be possible, and where to go. That subject is probably worthy of a different thread!!