From a Facebook friend. Another friend that flew down from Vancouver had the same experience, and another friend that flew to Germany in July and returned in August as well...
We made the trek from Barra to Vancouver yesterday via Aeromexico. Manzanillo to Mexico City to Vancouver. We had to do a health assessment with temperature check and fill in a health questionnaire prior to going to the check in desk. The plane arrived at Manzanillo and everyone deplaned, even the pilots and flight attendants. A decontamination crew went on board, closed all the doors and spent about 30 minutes wiping and fogging the interior. In Mexico city we rode the bus from the tarmac to the terminal (only a half load so we could distance) and they had signs inside the bus saying that the bus was decontaminated after each trip ! Inside the terminal very quiet and sanitizer everywhere. Stores were open but everyone was very respectful of distancing. Everyone in the airport wore a mask and there were monitors. At the gate there were four people interviewing everyone before boarding It was in depth interview with lots of questions then they put a sticker on the back of your passport. The plane was boarded and deplaned three rows at a time. Again people were very respectful of that. We flew with 30 other people on a 737- 800 series aircraft that is usually configured for around 180 people ! Not hard to social distance there. Great for us, not so great for the airline. On the plane everyone wore a mask for the entire trip. Peanuts with pop / juice and beer was the only service. You had to wait for the washroom to be clear before leaving your seat. No lineups allowed. Overall it was one of the most pleasant trips we've made in recent years. Wearing a mask was the most uncomfortable thing about the whole trip. Travelling with other carriers on other routes may be different but for us Aeromexico has been the go to airline for a few years now and we're really happy with them. The return trip (not booked yet) may be a different story. We will post and let you know how that goes. If you want to or have to travel it can be done safely. This is the new norm.
-----------
Re: Having second thoughts coming down this winter?
IF you have no healt condition you are ok to travel in these conditions.But some of us cannot take this risk .This virus Covid-19 Airborne and very dangerous!Waiting on a vaccin! Stay safe.
-----------
Re: Having second thoughts coming down this winter?
I promised to write about the last leg of our journey from Vancouver to Kelowna then our drive to Osoyoos so here it is. Customs and immigration in Vancouver was a breeze. The officer wanted to know where we were quarantining, how we were getting there, how we were going to get food etc and the string on my mask broke so he told me to put another one on. He took our health check forms that we completed on the plane. The airport was deserted. It was a little eerie. Check out the photo of the guy in the plastic suit with gloves, face shield, mask etc. Etc. I asked if I could take his picture and he asked why? I said because you’re doing everything so right. He was proud and said yes. He was in front of us at security and the agent looked at him and said why are you dressed like that? It was a bit funny but he was definitely protected! ( I forgot to attach this photo in the original post so it's attached to my comment below) We couldn’t make a connection to Kelowna the same day so had to stay in a hotel and our flight the next day wasn’t until 8:00 pm There are no shuttle buses running. You have to take a taxi. All the taxis have a plexiglass shield that goes from the roof to floor between the driver and passengers in the back seat. At the hotel the desk clerk didn't touch my ID or credit card. I held them up to the plexiglass shield between us and he wrote down the numbers. There is no complimentary breakfast in the lobby anymore. Instead they made up paper bag breakfasts with a huge and very good muffin in it, a juice box and some fruit. They leave them on a cart in the lobby (stapled closed) so you do have to go to the lobby to pick it up but I wore my mask grabbed two and was never closer than 20 feet from anyone. I rode the elevator alone. I’ve attached a picture of the instruction sheet they gave us at the hotel. They are very organized for stays over one night. That wasn’t us but they did give us a late check out to 1: 00 pm. Back to the airport and it was quiet ! We had to go to the Westjet counter to re-check our bags and get new boarding passes. The agent wouldn’t even touch our old boarding passes. We had to hold them in front of her so she could read the information then we had to deposit them in the garbage bin. The photo of the long line of empty kiosks is the international departure area. Pat had a glass of wine in the lounge, not a person in sight. The debit machine was wrapped in cellophane to protect the keys although one has to wonder how often they change that. Walking through the airport people were very courteous. If you came to an area where you would have to pass slightly close to someone else they would stop and let you pass at a safe distance and they would say sorry, EH ? OK, they didn’t really say that Canadian thing but everyone was respectful of distancing. Very few stores or food outlets open. All the drinking fountains were covered with signs on them. Boarding Westjet didn’t give me a good feeling. The plane came in and I didn’t see a crew go onboard to disinfect. They gave us a disinfectant wipe at the door for our hands, trays and whatever else we felt a needed a wipe down. The plane was about half full. From Kelowna we had to drive to our quarantine condo in Osoyoos. When I booked the rental car I called Budget first, told them we were arriving out of country and they said they could not rent to us. They said that Transport Canada regulations say that if they rent to people arriving from out of country then they have to quarantine the car for 14 days! What a crock. Someone misinterpreted the orders. I called Enterprise and told them we were from out of country and needed a one way rental to Osoyoos. He said no problem sir. He said drive directly to your place of quarantine. Park the car in a secure area and take a picture of the odometer, call us after four days and send us the photo. We will then send someone to pick up the car. He said disinfect the keys, put them in a ziplock baggie and toss them to the driver or have someone hand them to him if you can’t get that close. Too easy and the charges were only the day rental and a $100.00 one way drop off fee. No cost to us for the four days it was parked. That’s our story. A little long winded because well .....I don’t have a lot to do right now ! Stay safe and don’t be afraid but do be careful. Life goes on and you can still enjoy yourself but in different and more cautious way.
I enjoy reading these personal experience reports.
All of these precautions are to reduce the vectors (points of transmission) and don't cost much time or money so why not.
Some of the procedures are comical e.g. "We will then send someone to pick up the car. He said disinfect the keys, put them in a zip lock baggie and toss them to the driver or have someone hand them to him if you can’t get that close".
But who is going to disinfect the plastic bag?
The better instructions would be "drive the car to your quarantine place, take a photo of the odometer and then burn the car with the keys in it".
Just went and used the bank machine in town, here is how we do it in Mexico (notice the 3 legged table). I used the hand sanitizer and then wiped my hands on my pants to dry them ....hmmmm.
Some of the procedures remind me of a scene in the movie The Aviator, where Howard Hughes is self quarantined and is giving his care takers instructions on how to hold the bag so he can reach into it without touching the paper.