TRAVEL IN THE TIME OF CORONA (WITH APOLOGIES TO GABRIEL GARCĪA MÁRQUEZ)

By Srianee Fernando Dias

At first it was this curious viral outbreak in China, sometime in December - I didn’t think much of it, or that it would affect me in a tangible way, so I continued with my plans to visit my family in Sri Lanka, and left Connecticut in January.  As I always do, I flew first to Hamburg, Germany, to visit my daughter and family, and proceeded after a week or so to Sri Lanka on Emirates Airlines.

               While in Colombo I heard about the Chinese tourist who was hospitalized at the IDH in Angoda.  She was sent home after successful treatment with much fanfare at the airport.  Even the Minister of Health showed up to wish her good bye.  She was returning to Wuhan!  Even then it seemed like distant thunder of a storm that was quite faraway.

           I continued with my usual activities in Colombo, calling and visiting friends and family. I met quite number of friends from Medical College at a lovely dinner in mid February and no one discussed the impending chaos because nobody knew.  Most of my family was excited about the upcoming Royal-Thomian cricket match.  There were also numerous other family matters that kept me occupied during this time.

          Sometime later in February when serious outbreaks in Italy and Iran were being reported, it dawned on me that this epidemic could seriously impact my travel plans.  The situation in Wuhan was also worsening, and Sri Lankan Airlines rescued a planeload of students from Wuhan, who were subsequently quarantined in a military hospital in Diyatalawa. Travel bans were being implemented in certain countries and I realized that I had to change my original flight which was scheduled to depart from Colombo on April 1.  One option was to postpone my trip and the other was to return to the US before airlines began cancelling their flights on certain routes.

         Many friends and some of my family members, including my two daughters, advised me to stay longer (indefinitely) in Sri Lanka, because Sri Lanka was ‘safe.’  My daughters in particular felt that I was taking an unnecessary risk sitting for hours on the long flights that I would have to take, because I was older (Ha! Ha!). My daughter in Wisconsin said that the US was totally unprepared and that things were far worse than in Italy. (She was correct!)  My instincts, however, were to get back to home base soon, because the situation was heating up and there was no way to predict when things would improve.  I felt that things would get worse before they got better.  Each day brought more nerve wracking news from abroad, while the situation in Sri Lanka was still relatively calm. 

           It was relatively easy to change my flights, although there were fees involved.  I  changed my departure date to March 17th.  My normal plan which includes a visit to my family in Hamburg was abandoned, and my daughter in Hamburg booked an airport hotel for me to stay overnight.  My Aer Lingus flight was booked for the next morning and would take me directly to the Hartford airport, transiting in Dublin.  I kept checking on line and was reassured to read that the flights were operating normally.

         As my new departure date approached, I was deluged with unsolicited advice.  The situation in Europe was worsening, and perhaps I should make new plans to avoid Germany altogether.  That would mean flying to New York, to one of the crazy crowded airports (JFK or Newark) and would also mean coughing up (pun intended!) more cash for a new ticket.  I had seen images of people standing in line for hours at JFK waiting to be ‘screened’ for COVID-19 infection before being allowed to enter the US, and I wanted to avoid that.  It would also mean finding transportation from NYC to West Hartford , Connecticut, which takes two hours on a good day.  Besides, the Aer Lingus website kept reassuring me that their flights to the US were “operating normally.” 
 

            One morning I was woken up by one of my cousins who had heard that “Trump had cancelled all flights from Europe into USA!”  I hastily jumped out of bed, turned on CNN and waited for more details.  Trump’s announcement (as usual) had been vague and ambiguous.  The newscasters explained that US citizens and Green Card holders would be exempt.  (Phew!) All other travelers from Europe would not be allowed to enter the US.

           The departure date arrived and I proceeded to BIA uneventfully.  The person ahead of me in line chatted a bit with me.  I found out that she was a mathematician from the Netherlands, who seemed perplexed about the fuss and increasing panic all around her.  When I explained to her that this virus was highly contagious and spreads rapidly she seemed a little more convinced, especially after I told her that I was a retired pathologist.   The Emirates Boeing 777 aircraft was unexpectedly crowded.  I had armed myself with disinfectant wipes and proceeded to wipe down everything!  Social distancing was not possible, but since I was in an aisle seat I felt that I had a little more space around me.  From Dubai to Hamburg it was another packed flight, this time an Airbus 380, filled to capacity with Germans returning home!

         The Immigration Officer who stamped my passport at the Hamburg airport asked me the routine question “What is your reason for visiting German?”  When I explained that I had to abandon my original plans to visit my family, on account of the virus outbreak and instead spend the night at the airport hotel, he was so sympathetic, and proceeded to have a five minute conversation with me, expressing how sorry he was that I had to change my plans.  This is quite unusual for a German immigration official, because of all the grumpy, surly immigration personnel in the world they have the reputation of being the grumpiest! When I related this exchange to my daughter in Hamburg, she was surprised and amused. 

         The Radisson Blue Hotel was thankfully just across the parking lot from the airport and I successfully made my way there in the rapidly darkening evening.  The reception area was eerily deserted.  I spotted about 3 other guests.  I was beginning to get hungry, but the hotel restaurant was closed!  The receptionist reassured me that I would be able to order room service.  I settled in, ordered my dinner and turned on my laptop to check into my Aer Lingus flight which was due to leave at about 10.00 am the next morning.  It was then that I realized, to my horror, that my connecting flight from Dublin to Hartford had been cancelled!  Damn! Why didn’t Aer Lingus send me an email or text message as they usually do? (I realized later that the airlines were simply unable to cope with the government regulations which were changing by the minute!)   I successfully confirmed my first flight from Hamburg to Dublin on line and decided to try calling the Aer Lingus customer service number.  As I expected, I heard a recording that said I would have to wait about 3 hours to speak with a customer representative! I rationalized that since I would be at the Aer Lingus counter at the airport the next morning, perhaps the person checking me in would be able to get me a seat on a flight to Boston.  Meanwhile, I had spoken with my friends who had agreed to pick me up in Hartford and had warned them that I may end up flying in to Logan Airport in Boston, and would take the shuttle bus that would bring me partway to Hartford.  They simply said “Get here somehow!”

           Next morning I got ready early and trudged downstairs to the reception desk to checkout.  I didn’t meet a soul in the long hallway on my way there.  As I was checking out, I joked with the receptionist and said that I may have to return to the hotel if I didn’t get a flight to the US.  She then informed me that they had just received a directive stating that they were only allowed to offer rooms to ‘business’ guests from that day on.  At this point I realized that I had to keep moving forward.  The option of taking the subway train to my daughter’s home was also out of the question because they were under quarantine for two weeks.  (My granddaughter and her cousin had been skiing in the Tyrol region which had now been designated a high risk area.) Staying with them would mean two weeks or more in Germany, during which time anything could happen with the transatlantic travel restrictions.

        I went across to the airport and made my way to the Aer Lingus check in counter.  Just like the hotel, the normally bustling Hamburg airport seemed deathly quiet.  Airport employees were lingering in the cafes enjoying their coffee.  While waiting for the counter to open, I struck up a conversation with two forlorn looking American students, who had been in Hamburg on a ‘study abroad’ program. They were flying back to their homes in the US because the universities in Hamburg had closed rather abruptly.  They were not sure if they would be able to get their money back.  One of them told me that he had been on the phone for hours attempting to get a flight to Newark, New Jersey, before he finally succeeded.  When the counter finally opened, I explained my problem to the young man who was checking my travel details.  It was soon apparent to me that he didn’t have the authority to book me on a flight to Boston.  He was not an Aer Lingus employee, but an airport employee, and was unable to even tell me if a flight to Boston was available that day. I was in a quandary, but there was no turning back.  I realized then that if I wanted to speak with an Aer Lingus employee I would have to get on that flight to Dublin.  Worst case, I would have to check into a hotel in Dublin.  To add to my consternation, when my luggage tag printed out the final destination said “BDL,”  which is the code for Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Connecticut.  “Where on earth would my luggage end up?” I thought, because there were no flights to Hartford that day.

       Once I boarded the flight to Dublin, the journey took a different turn.  The plane was not crowded and the flight staff was attentive and helpful.  I explained my predicament to one of the flight attendants who immediately reassured me that there was a late afternoon flight to Boston from Dublin with plenty of available seats.  The anxiety that had been enveloping me all this time evaporated instantly.  He conveyed the situation to his superior, who promised to connect me with the ground staff in Dublin, and said that they would guide me through the process of obtaining a ticket to Boston. 

     There was quite a logistical dance in Dublin.  I was able to claim my bag (which I thought had disappeared forever) on a special carousel, because all the bags which were tagged for cancelled flights were off-loaded in Dublin.  I was advised to go out through customs and upstairs to the ticketing area, to obtain a new boarding pass for the 4:00 pm flight to Boston. By this time, I was getting quite weary of pushing and pulling my big suitcase.  I was quietly cursing myself for having packed so many packets of Dimbulla tea and YWCA roasted curry powder, which are mostly for my friends and family!  (After every trip I promise myself that I will pack light the next time, but it never happens!)  After another long wait at the ticketing counter, I made my way to the US boarding area, where the American Customs and Immigration pre-clearance was done.  (This is another advantage of flying to the US through Dublin.)  I was pleasantly surprised to find only a few people in line, and security personnel who seemed more relaxed and more polite than usual.  At the boarding gate the passengers heading to Boston sat far apart from each other.  Some of them, including me, sat in the seats lining the long hallways, keeping plenty of space between us.  Finally, It was such a relief to board an aircraft that would take me across the Atlantic to Boston.

     I was thankful that I hadn’t panicked and booked myself on a different airline to get me to the US.  I heard later about other Americans who had paid exorbitant prices to purchase new transatlantic tickets. Some of them camped for days in airport lobbies in various European cities waiting for flights.  I felt really lucky, because a day or two after I left Colombo BIA shut down and Emirates Airlines cancelled many international flights!