Quarantine restrictions when travelling to and from some countries were lifted nearly a month ago, but uncertainty about going abroad remains prevalent among those in Lincoln.
Following a government announcement, from 10 July, people who arrive in England from certain countries will no longer need to quarantine for 14 days, due to the introduction of ‘travel corridors.’
Despite this and other positive steps, many people are still uncomfortable with the idea of travelling between countries.
Josh Stapleton, a student from the University of Lincoln, said he feels uneasy about boarding aeroplanes and staying in hotels.
“If I was to go abroad now, it would only be by driving and I think being in a confined space like a plane for several hours is too much of a risk,” he said.
“Also, I would only feel comfortable camping or something along those lines, as I’d still be quite wary of hotels, as you don’t know if they have been cleaned well enough.”
Eden Horner, who also studies in Lincoln, shares a similar view.
She said: “I feel that some countries, especially our own, are still prone to a second spike and so I think that travelling can be dangerous, as it can increase the risk.
“I think travelling should still be limited at the moment and should only be for those who maybe have to travel abroad for work.”
Katholiki Tachtara, who just finished her first year at the University of Lincoln, flew from the U.K. to Greece in July.
Greece is one of the countries where travel corridors were introduced.
She said: “There are places with hand sanitisers and most people are wearing face masks.
“During the flight […] the flight attendants were telling everyone to wear their mask throughout the whole duration of the flight.”
Other than the implementation of safety measures, Katholiki felt the experience at the airport and on the aeroplane wasn’t much different to how it would usually be.
“Everything was still open and available on the flight,” she said.
“You could use the toilet and buy anything you wanted. The only difference was that they preferred contactless payments.”
“You can see that most people understand the importance of the current situation.”
On arrival in Greece, Katholiki said the only difference was having to verify that she’d completed a Passenger Locator Form prior to her flight.
As the U.K. takes gradual steps to relax the coronavirus lockdown, certain measures are being reintroduced, depending on available data.
On 26 July, following an increase in cases in some regions, it was announced that those travelling back from some areas of Spain will now once again have to undergo a 14-day quarantine period.
This was then updated on 27 July when the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised against all non-essential travel to Spain.
Other countries could also end up in the same position, as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab reportedly told Sky News that he could not guarantee the ‘safe list’ would not be edited further.
With the public being encouraged to leave their homes and support their local economies, it’s likely only a matter of time before air travel begins to increase once again.