A plane trip in the new normal

Yesterday, I took the plane for the first time in this post-Covid era. I had a compelling reason to travel.

It was a three-hour trip out of Frankfurt. And I got a couple of surprises. First, the aircraft was full. Like in the old days. It is true that everyone was wearing a mask, but every seat was taken. And this is still a time of restrictions on travelling abroad, even within the Schengen area. Second, there were all types of passengers, from young families with small kids to older couples, and everyone in between. I would have loved to ask my fellow passengers what the reason for travel was, but I had no authority to do it. I know that the airline had asked them a similar question, in very vague terms and without requiring any supporting document. Third, there was no health or temperature checking before embarkation. Just a request to keep a safe distance before passing through the boarding pass control, a request that was in contradiction with the crowding on board.

Upon arrival at the destination, there was a temperature check. And that was it. We all left the airport to go and take care of our own business.

My conclusion was that it is better to re-open the air travel soon. And, at least, check the temperature of the would-be passengers before boarding. If there are more options to travel, more flights available, there might be less crowding on each plane. This should go hand in hand with the lifting of restrictions on cross border road and train trips.

At the same time, it is important to keep repeating the recommendation for people to think twice before travelling. Many will follow such advice, I am sure.

Let the airlines take a chance

A brief note about civil aviation and everything related, including plane makers and service providers. This is a sector that is deeply impacted by the coronavirus crisis. It will be one where major losses will occur. Every airline is losing massive amounts of money daily. And no one can predict when the skies will open again. The longer the wait the greater the risk of insolvency, of extensive disruption. And governments cannot save the entire sector. Any public money invested in aviation economics will be based on a reduced presence in the skies, on fewer planes and fewer jobs. It will be very tough. They will be competing against so many other demands on limited public resources. But let me be clear: it is critical to resume a handful of flights. It might be less expensive than keeping the planes on the ground. And it will help everyone to see where the priorities must be. The airlines will make their choices. In this case, the first role of governments should be to facilitate air travel, to lift the restrictions that make no real sense from a public health point of view.

Without borders

My point is that the borders should re-open shortly. First, the borders between European states, the Schengen area. To keep them closed for longer has a tremendous impact on the economy of the countries concerned and feeds the prejudiced views that the nationalist extremists try to propagate. Europe is about freedom of movement and accepting the others as fellow Europeans. To erect borders and obstacles between the countries undermines that critical dimension of the European Union. It sends an extremely negative message about the other. It makes us go back to the old suspicions and narrow views.

Second, it is necessary to resume international travel, well beyond the European space. Most of the progress that has been achieved during the last decades is linked to international contacts, to a global view of trade and tourism. Our world, the world we built during the last decades is based on mobility.

We have, of course, to ensure the safety of those who will be travelling as well as protect the health of those providing the services to this economic sector. That is possible. It does not require we keep each nation behind thick walls.

Let the planes fly

One of my messages is clear. International travel should restart as soon as possible. There are enough means to control the health condition of passengers before departure and upon arrival. And the airlines can organise the space inside the planes, to guarantee a minimum of safety. This is a sector that is in dire straits. It must be given a chance to come back. But I am convinced we will see some big changes soon. The airlines will have to rethink their business model. And, in some cases, we might watch some companies just moving out of the business. Their viability is far from being possible. And we cannot have public money being spent just to keep them in the skies.  

Travelling

On travel to faraway lands, as of today and for a good week. Well, the point is to keep the eyes wide-open and learn as much as possible. Withdrawal and fighting globalisation are now top on many politicians´agendas.

These issues bring votes. But do not open a better future. And do not bring peace and tranquility. The problems have no borders, as the international mass, uncontrolled migrations and the Zika epidemic show. We might talk about building walls but there is always a way around them.

Better face the issues up-front.  

Putin´s ban list: forget!

The Russian government has issued a list with the names of those barred from travelling to Russia.

I have reviewed it with some detail. It is a mixed bag of second rate EU personalities, nothing more. It pulls together members of parliament, a few politicians, including local ones, another couple of opinion makers, and a handful of senior civil servants from different EU countries.

It is obviously a list to retaliate. Most of those on the list have little power to decide about the European relations with Moscow. They might be vocal, in a few cases, but I am not even sure the EU leaders listen to them.

The best approach to the Putin list is to ignore it. 

A bit of fresh air

This evening in Stavanger people are just sitting outside by the fjord and enjoying a few drinks and some food. It is not a big crowd, but it is interesting to see them enjoying the cold but relatively dry weather. Like in any café terrace in warmer places.  Pleasure in life is sometimes made of just some fresh air and a relaxed approach to the one´s destiny. 

Disconnected

If you want to momentarily forget the world and all its catastrophic or less tragic challenges, just spend the day in a small beach village like De Haan, on the Belgian coast. I did it and I realised, once again, how easy is to ignore the outside world when everything around you is orderly and predicable, the houses are Belle Époque and the people on the streets are just enjoying the quiet and the beauty of the place.

Then, if you put a sunny day on top of it, you are indeed disconnected.

One should be able to disconnect once in a while. In addition to everything else, it gives us a chance to realise how lucky one is because peace, liberty and security have no price. They remain, here, and elsewhere, in Iraq, Ukraine, in the conflict zones and in countries in economic crisis, the ultimate goal for everyone.

And that we should not fail to recall even in a pretty village. 

The plane was full

My flight this evening from Basel to Brussels was full. I was amazed. How could it be? Basel might be rich and industrious, Mulhouse, in France, is just next door, the German border is there as well, but still, these are somehow what I would call provincial areas.

I came to the conclusion, once more, that you open a link between two cities and then you just get a lot of passengers. Air travel has become like a second nature to many people. 

Riga

It’s a delight to spend time in Riga. I am now at the end of my usual long September stay in the capital of Latvia. And I leave with a good feeling. This is a place that is forward looking, committed and full of beautiful people. They are also an example of civility and discipline. And those are two ingredients that make everyday life much easier. Even in the cold and the rain of the long days of autumn or in the freezing temperatures of very heavy winters. Even when money is short and the living get tough. But this people will make it, I am sure.

Brazil

Back home, after a three-week trek across Brazil. I should actually say, after visiting a couple of places because the country is so vast and diverse that in a few weeks one can only get a light grasp of a very rich, intense and dynamic nation such as Brazil. Three weeks is just enough to get a break off the pessimism and self-destruction that is gaining ground in Europe and breath a bit of the optimism and confidence in the future. And feel the sense of opportunity that is now so strong in that country. Were I young, I would move there, I thought, on my way back to “little” Europe! 

Paris and the young Japanese

I spent many hours walking the avenues and also the little streets of Paris. It was a sunny day, a beautiful day after so many awful days of grey. Paris is always a delight particularly when the weather is fine. It is a city that was conceived by people with great sense of ambition and personal glory and that transmitted that to the many palaces, monuments, squares and gardens that make the place an architectural wonder.

Just a first impression after a very long day: one sees plenty of young tourists from Japan in Paris. As I walked the avenues I was asking myself if visiting Paris is a rite of passage for the young men and ladies of today’s Japan. And then I thought, maybe this will make the youth of that far away land a bit more romantic and more interested in love…I am told they desperately need to boost the romanticism in the Japanese society…