The familiar routines and rituals of air travel have been turned on their head during the pandemic
OTTAWA -- Watching the farms and highways of Ontario out of the oval windows of an Airbus A320, it's easy to forget for a moment how COVID-19 has so thoroughly changed familiar routines.
In the departure lounge, seats are cordoned off so people don't sit too close. As those who've chosen to take a midday flight to Toronto take every other spot, they're kitted out in everything from homemade masks to full face shields. The musty smell of the airplane cabin is cut with the scent of cleaning solution, and the flight attendant smiles with her eyes, her bilingual "Hello! Bonjour!" greeting muffled by her mask.
There are no throngs of smiling family and friends waiting just outside the luggage carousels at Toronto's Pearson international airport. No one but passengers and staff are allowed inside. That romantic moment in the movies where people are wrapped in the love of family and friends they haven't seen in months? It is replaced by dire signs reminding of COVID-19 symptoms, and yet another plea to wash your hands.
On this weekday, the number of flights is under a dozen, nearly all to Canadian cities. Timmins, Ont. Hmmm. They say it's nice this time of year.
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