Air Travel in mid-2021
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14 July 2021
Flesland - Back in May I purchased nonstop flights to and from Zürich for my ultramarathon in the Alps. Lufthansa subsequently downgraded them to one stop and then two stops. You really can't count on anything with travel these days. I arrived here to Bergen's airport two hours early as I always do, although in the koronatider it's not necessary. There aren't that many people flying. I was also able to check in online and print my boarding pass yesterday. This was not the case for the other two trips I took by air this year. The airport is also way more chill. Most people are unmasked. All the shops are open and they're selling alcohol again. It's just that the number of people is extremely reduced. Although Norway is not in the EU, it is within the Schengen border so I have an EU/EØS koronasertifikat, that is, a covid passport. Having gotten my vaccinations in the United States this is something of a rarity, but my Norwegian doctor was nice enough to input them into the Helsenorge system before things got stricter. The US does not have a digital verification system like that required for travel in the EU, so I was lucky to be able to circumvent it. Switzerland isn't isn't in the EU either, but like Norway it is in Schengen so this system is my in there as well.
Gardermoen - You know you've been living in a country a while when you start to meet friends at the airport. Linda and Daniel were waiting for their flight to the Faroes when I spotted them on the way to grab a cheeseburger. They joined me and we chatted a while before they caught their flight. Many more people here in the airport are wearing masks and I still had to wear one on the flight, except when eating or drinking. It's good that things are getting a little closer back to normalcy, but we're not there yet and it seems that those of us lucky enough to be vaccinated are now given more freedom than the rest of humanity. This medical divide between rich and poor countries is unavoidable in the short term, but really should not become a permanent fixture. Those who question having there freedoms dependent on government papers have a point about the incredible seizure of power that has happened in the pandemic. It is also foolish of people to conflate vaccine skepticism and disdain for this government overreach. I have seen this both in antigovernment groups advocating against vaccination and in progoverment groups painting people who are against the increased government powers as being antivaxxers. In Norway there's a lot of government overreach, but not to the point of excluding people within the country. Yet. Elsewhere I wonder if Irish covid police say Ausweis, bitte when accosting restaurant patrons to check their vaccine papers - those who do not have papers are not allowed to go out. And mostly we, the priviledged, are just so happy to be doing things again that we don't think to much about those who are now being excluded from society.
Frankfurt - Barely enough time here to grab ein Brezel und ein Bier. Only my second time in this Lufthansa hub.
