Travel in these times.

Everyone who knows me, also knows how paranoid I was about travelling back home and taking an air plane. I knew this wasn't going to be for someone who has some level of anxiety already.

My paranoia got me to take the first seat on the plane by the window.

I made sure I was wearing a mask and a shield and I assumed that fellow travellers were being careful too.

The whole piece of travelling is about being careful, I guess.

But I realised that my countrymen didn't think of it that way.

First things first, you need to check-in before your flight. When entering into the airport you have to pull down your mask to match your face with your ID. The BSF guys are in a glass cabin. 

But that is where you realise, that there is absolutely NO social distancing.  The airport authorities and airline staff have taken the effort of placing yellow markers all over the place. But I am assuming everyone is colour blind. This is THE most simple instruction - Maintain distance. It beats me how rules are only made to be flouted in this country.

So you drop your check-in baggage and again there are a couple of markers to indicate your spot. But obviously, everyone was turning a blind eye.

Then you get past the security check and poof goes the mask like a graduation hat !!

I was appalled to see the number of people who were walking around maskless.

So you come to your boarding gate and are supposed to pick up your safety kits from the airline which consist of a shield / a mask and a thing that covers your clothing. I believe this is supposed to be worn by people on middle seats. 

Then you have the queue for the plane - the same bit of crowding again.

You get on the plane and even though to attempt to get in last, your bag has no place, because people probably dump their bags wherever they see a space. Which meant I had to walk past several people.

At the arrival airport which was Pune, the cabin crew announced that they would be deplaning passenger by rows.

But would they listen? The announcement was made about five times. I think people were getting off their seats even before the plane could come to a halt.

All this in the middle of a pandemic.

Everything was exactly the same when I was travelling back.

The only difference that our plane was carrying an organ in a box. The box was placed on a seat. So obviously it was announced that there will be priority deplaning but again we were at the same spot. The announcement was made about ten times and nobody paid any heed. 

Some of my observations from all my travels :

Lack of empathy 

Zero patience - I do not understand the rush. Where does one need to head out?

Lack of respect for fellow passengers or the airline staff.

I would expect that if you are not thinking about your own safety, there are many others you need to think about.

Senior citizens, kids, infants, pregnant moms and you never know if someone has an underlying condition.

I hope people are eventually sensitized and I don't see a way that this going to change overnight.  Because clearly there is a lack of sensitivity.