Fly a brave new world
Scarlett Sangster takes the first British Airways plane to green-listed Portugal
As I queue at Heathrow waiting to check in, Michael, a British Airways employee who’d clearly had far more coffee than me, is excitedly moving barriers to create the most efficient queuing system. I’ve not been on a plane for over a year, but already, the scenario feels weirdly normal.
A few days earlier, a tester for Covid travel test provider Qured had knocked at my door to conduct the first of three tests booked for my trip to Portugal on the momentous day international travel restrictions would be eased.
It took 24 hours to receive my negative result, which I uploaded, along with my Passenger Locator Form, as required by the Portuguese government, on to the BA website.
My second lateral flow test would come with me to Portugal, while the third would be waiting when I got back home. Altogether, these measures added £300 to the cost of my trip.
When I arrive at the airport, check-in is smooth. BA have already verified my documents online and there are no queues at security. All in all, the whole experience is far less stressful than I remember.
Inside a very quiet Terminal 5, I buy a coffee and wait for my fellow passengers to arrive. It is, I’m told, a full flight. But why had these passengers raced to book a place on the first escape? The answer, I would soon discover, is not necessarily for a holiday.
For weeks, papers have been predicting the mass return of holidaymakers to green-listed beaches. However, the excited flyers I meet on this Monday morning have far more ‘essential’ reasons to travel.
Anya Edwards, 20, is one of many travellers preparing to reunite with loved ones. “I’m going to see my boyfriend – he lives out there,” she tells me. “
Jill Osborne, 48, is also looking forward to a reunion. “I threw caution to the wind a couple of weeks ago, hoping to meet family and friends over in Lisbon.”
Meanwhile, new parents Natacha and Miguel Rodrigues, who both work at Frimley Park Hospital in Hampshire, are taking their seven-month-yearold son Gabriel to meet his grandparents for the first time. “I feel very emotional,” says Natacha. “It’s been a challenging and scary time without hands to help.”
Needless to say, the atmosphere outside gate A13 is far from anxious. Despite the masks, which are mandatory throughout the airport, and the added cost of testing, everyone seems to feel the benefits of travel far outweigh any added stress caused by the new measures, or any risk they might be taking.
Boarding the plane, the BA crew greet us with warm smiles and an antiseptic wipe. We wear facemasks for the duration of the flight, except during the meal service. But aside from that, the flight feels pretty normal.
Iaska member of the crew if there are measures I hadn’t noticed. Sarah Gourley, inflight lead, explains: “We’ve introduced several measures; as well as the sanitising wipes, we also disembark and bring people on to the plane in smaller numbers. Everyone’s wearing masks and we’ve limited the time people can spend walking up and down the aisles. We also clean and sanitise the bathrooms after every use.”
Landing at Humberto Delgado Airport, it takes less than 20 minutes to get from the plane and through immigration and customs with my non-EU passport.
Restrictions in Portugal include a six-person limit on gatherings indoors and outdoors. Shops and restaurants are all open, along with cinemas and theatres, though with reduced opening hours. There’s also a 10.30pm curfew on restaurants and cafés, while bars and nightlife remain closed.
Unlike the UK, Portuguese authorities require you to wear a face mask in all public places, including outside. This is relaxed a little on beaches, where you can remove your mask after setting up a designated area for your group of six.
These measures sound pretty strict, but once you get over the idea of a facemask-shaped tan-line, Lisbon feels no stricter than London.