The return of travel?

With the news last week that US airports hit their highest use in the past year, it might seem that the travel bug is starting to pick back up. The truth is that some parts of the world, including Europe, are dealing with the third wave of new virus variants and a slowdown in the Covid-19 vaccination rollout.

Airline stocks have jumped too, but that could be either the passing of the US stimulus plan or the uptick in vaccinations or both.

Research has shown that airline travel is relatively safe when it comes to Covid-19. It’s what everyone might be doing when they get to a destination that seems a lot more worrisome. We are seeing mass unmasked gatherings and Spring Break revelers just itching to unwind.

I get it, I would hop on a plane and go somewhere too if we were a little further along towards the end of all this. Where I live the cases are generally low, but where I travel might not be and I could be contributing to the problem.
I’m still a believer in the road trip. I’ve expanded my distance to neighboring states as cases have gone down and vaccinations have gotten higher. But still, keeping up the social distancing and mask rules goes a long way.

So, for me, large indoor gatherings are still out, and the outdoors are in. For the time being, staying in a sort of self-contained travel bubble makes sense. We are getting closer, not quite yet. But we are coming up against basic human nature, getting together and getting out.

We can all plan to travel again. If we do go right now, it still makes sense to stick to the guidelines that have been working. Avoid crowds, wear a mask indoors, and keep it clean. This is still a long way from normal.