The information provided on this post is based on our experience travelling from London to Italy on the 25th July. Coronavirus updates change almost daily so we would encourage you to check with your local authorities before making any decisions about travelling.
The City Next Door travelled from London to Italy during COVID-19 on Saturday 25th July and we want to share our experience with you.
We travelled to Pescara and took the usual direct flight that Ryanair has been offering for quite some time between London Stansted and Pescara, which lasts just over 2hrs.
This post will answer questions such as:
1- Do I have to wear a face mask at all times?
2-What types of measures is Ryanair taking to ensure safety of passengers and staff?
3- Do I need to fill in the self-declaration forms?
4- Are duty-free shops and restaurants open?
5- Are there temperature check points anywhere?
Keep reading and please drop us a comment below if you have additional questions about the trip.
Arriving at London Stanstted
Once we got to the airport it became apparent that we were travelling under exceptional circumstances, the long and short stay car parks were nearly empty which is very rare, especially in the middle of summer.
Despite the fact that public transport was available, it looked like many people (including us) preferred to get to the airport by taxi instead of taking the usual National Express service to Stansted, for example.
One of the many signs at Stansted Airport encouraging social distancing.
Everyone outside and inside the airport were wearing face masks, which were made mandatory for all indoor spaces in the UK from the 24th July.
Ryanair put in place its self-service check-in service so your luggage was only handled by yourself. You will only need to use the counter service if a visa check is needed.
The floor was properly marked with the ‘keep 2 metres apart’ sign however most people will still stand right behind you completely ignoring it.
One of the many signs at Stansted Airport encouraging social distancing
Going through security
Once we started to go through security we were shocked about how empty it was! If you have travelled from Stansted before you will know that going through security could be a nightmare due to the usual long queues and big crowds.
In our opinion, Stansted Airport did an amazing job at keeping this area completely clear and empty at all times. We went through the maze in seconds, got our hand luggage checked and finalized the whole process in less than ten minutes (this is even more impressive when you’re travelling with a 6 months old baby). The staff there was friendly and efficient at avoiding crowds of people getting in at the other end of security, once your hand luggage has been checked and inspected.
Waiting at the departure terminal
Once the dreaded security process was over we made our way to the departure terminal and once again it became apparent that we were travelling in the middle of a pandemic.
Only a few shops and restaurants were open so if you are one of those that enjoy doing a bit of shopping and then having a nice meal before getting into the plane, bear in mind that this time it might not be possible or you will have very limited choices to do it. We counted only four restaurants open including Pret a Manger and Starbucks.
A fairly empty departure terminal at London Stansted. The empty tables shown on the picture belong to the well known Asian food chain Itsu, which as many other restaurants were closed.
On the other hand, the shops open were displaying lots of discount offers as shown below:
Discounts offers at the duty free to encourage purchases from travelers.
On that day only four airlines were operating: Ryanair, Easyjet and Pegasus (sorry, we can’t remember the fourth one!). The terminal was well identified encouraging travellers to practice social distancing at all times.
Boarding
Finally the most feared part of the process for us started, the boarding process! We were extremely disappointed with how Raynair handled the whole thing:
1- safety measures were non-existent,
2- the queue to board the plane was done as usual. This means very long queues with people standing right behind each other,
3- people were not following the social distancing measures. This was not encouraged by Ryanair’s staff either,
4- temperatures checks were not done at either airport or when boarding the plane.
The plane was full so it was even more difficult to follow the social distancing measures, with the exception of everyone wearing face masks it felt like a pretty standard Ryanair flight. Only hot beverages and snacks were offered during the flight.
Landing in Pescara
When we landed in Pescara, the situation wasn’t much different. Social distancing rules were not observed or encouraged by either Ryanair or Abruzzo airport’s staff.
We had to make a long queue to go through immigration, and once again most people were standing right behind each other. The only new thing that we noticed is that a picture was taken of every single passenger as we were approaching security, but we were not told what the purpose of this was.
The self-declaration forms were not requested at either airport, this seems to be a hit and miss situation, so we will encourage you to have your forms ready in both languages (English and Italian) just in case.
Signs on all seats at the Abruzzo Airport
So . . . Should I travel?
We can’t answer this for you, but we can advise being as mindful as possible when doing it. Try to take one long holiday instead of a few short ones, check if the country you want to visit has too many active cases of COVID-19 and visit less popular destinations are some of our recommendations.
There is no doubt we are going through difficult times and it’s important to keep this in mind at all times. The fact that things seem to be “better” doesn’t mean we are not at risk. Travelling and exploring the world as we know it definitely has changed over the last few months and it probably will remain like this for a long period of time. This means we need to understand, adapt and evolve according to the circumstances.