The Canadian government, along with many other countries around the world, have enacted international travel restrictions on inbound passengers and recommended its citizens to only travel when necessary. Despite these recommendations and restrictions, I found myself flying over 23,000km on four aircraft across three continents this summer.
Was I exempt? Yes and no, this depends on how “exempt” is defined. While I was exempt from entry restrictions to about 30 countries thanks to residence permits and multiple passports, I was still subject to quarantine requirements of the respective countries. Having travelled from Europe to Asia in July then from Asia to North America in August, I was required to complete a total of 28 days of quarantine and 3 COVID-19 tests, more on that later.
Zürich -> Warsaw -> Zürich
I was living in Switzerland earlier this year and the situation was still calm in January when Europeans thought that a disease in China was too far away to affect their lives. I booked a trip to Poland for Easter to take advantage of the strong Swiss Franc to learn more about National Socialist history of Germany and build on knowledge learned writing course papers when I was in Berlin.
COVID-19 case numbers crept up in the coming weeks leading to a controversial decision by some countries like France and Italy to close its borders with neighbouring Schengen states. In mere days, the longstanding open-borders policy of over two dozen European nations fell like dominoes and I had to find out if I could get my money back from my flight booked with Swiss International Airlines.
Since Switzerland isn’t an EU member state, some European passenger rights laws did not apply in Switzerland. However, to the relief of passengers, Switzerland also mandated that passengers have to be refunded their paid ticket value in cash. Most airlines couldn’t afford to do that, so in an attempt to stay solvent, Lufthansa Group (the company that owns and controls Swiss) offered an extra 50 Euros or Swiss Francs for passengers opting for a cash voucher for a future flight booked later in the year.
By March I already knew that I would have to leave the country by June when my residence permit expired with my work contract, so I opted for the voucher in lieu of cash.
Geneva -> Zürich Frankfurt -> Hong Kong
Come June, my Swiss residence permit, which was tied to my work contract, expired and forced me to leave Switzerland by July. I bought my one-way ticket with using my Swiss voucher to Hong Kong to visit my parents. I thought I could use my cash voucher to purchase a ticket online, but there was no voucher code so I had to call their customer centre in the Philippines to purchase a flight ticket like it was 1992.
After my flight was confirmed over the phone and I received my itinerary to fly from Geneva to Hong Kong via Zürich, I started packing my bags and prepared for my flight in four weeks. Everything went as planned until 24 hours before take-off when I was unable to check in to my confirmed flight. After spending hours listening to Swiss’ hotline’s telephone queue music, I finally got through to a customer service representative at 2am and found out that my flight was cancelled. The agent rerouted me via Frankfurt to fly on a Lufthansa flight instead. There were only two problems: the new flight departed at 10am giving me fewer than 4 hours of sleep, and the layover in Frankfurt was 9-hours long.
My apartment rental ended that morning so I had no choice but to take their less-than-ideal offer. When I checked myself in online I found that my rerouted ticket was upgraded from a basic ticket to a full-fare economy class ticket entitling me to a heavily discounted upgrade to premium economy, so I took it. The first leg to Frankfurt boarded and taxied on time. It didn’t take long for things to go wrong again; as the plane lined up for take-off there was a loud noise from the left engine followed by a drone of mechanical clattering. The pilot explained that one of the engines were unfit for flight and we had to turn back and get on another plane. With COVID-19 in full force there were plenty of planes waiting and ready to be fuelled for take-off.
Swiss’ staff acted swiftly and professionally transferring over 100 passengers to another plane in just 40 minutes and announced a delay of just one hour. While some travellers were frustrated that they were going to miss their thrice weekly connection I was not concerned at all as my layover was now shortened to “just” 8 hours. Passing through immigration and security in Frankfurt was a breeze as most of the passengers traveling through were experience fliers and German bureaucracy is thorough but logical.
Once I got through to the restricted area of the airport to wait for my flight I looked for activities to pass the time. As a well-prepared traveller, I had my airline status cards at hand and a Priority Pass Select to hunt for a quiet lounge for a productive afternoon and evening at the airport. To my dismay, all the lounges were closed and the only operational restaurant was an expansive McDonalds with fewer diners than staff members. Also armed with the German McDonalds app from my student days in Berlin I ate 20 chicken nuggets for lunch and another 20 chicken nuggets for dinner for the low, low price of lust €9.99 a box.
When it came time to board, I observed a group a Mainland Chinese men dressed in full personal protective clothing as the flight to Hong Kong prepared for boarding. The group was denied boarding due to temporary regulations in Hong Kong prohibiting transits to Mainland China and Lufthansa staff recommended that they rebook to a direct flight to an airport in Mainland China. I just felt sorry that they had gone through the trouble to wearing a very hot suit only to be denied boarding. Everyone else boarded complying with the face mask requirement.
Quarantine in Hong Kong
Travelers to Hong Kong need to fill in health and travel history information before approaching immigration control at the airport. Health officials will assess individuals based on this information and decide whether the traveller can quarantine at their reported place or will need to be put under medical observation. If they determine that the traveller can quarantine at their own selected premises an electronic bracelet linked to a phone’s geolocator will be put on their wrist for location tracking to enforce compliance.
Hong Kong International Airport 
Quarantine suite on the 14th floor
The traveller is bussed to a nearby exhibition centre that has been converted to a sampling station. Staff employed by the Health Department help travellers with their bags and place them in safekeeping. Since deepthroat saliva samples take several hours to test only those arriving in the morning will get their results in the same day. Travellers arriving in the afternoon, such as myself, were placed in a four-star hotel for one night while we waited for the results to be announced.
I was quite excited when I got assigned to the executive floor of the hotel, which was on the 14th floor – the top floor. Unfortunately, when I got into the elevator I could only find the button for the 13th floor and had to haul three pieces of luggage up one floor to reach my room. All the usual hotel amenities were provided such as toiletries, bottled water, and a flatscreen television. Both dinner for that evening and breakfast for the next morning were delivered to the door.
If the result came out to be positive the traveller would be sent to medical observation. Mine came back negative, so I went home and shut myself in for 14 days.
Hong Kong -> Vancouver -> Ottawa
The new school year started in September and I had already been preparing for my master’s program in Ottawa for two years. Two years ago, nobody could have known how difficult it would be to travel in 2020. Despite the difficulty, I was intent on continuing with being on campus for the school year as the stress from a 12-hour time difference could adversely affect my health by messing up my serotonin levels.
To my surprise, the journey to Ottawa went without logistical issues; there were no cancellations, no engine failures, and no reroutes. Again, when offered to upgrade to premium economy on my one-way ticket to Ottawa with Air Canada I jumped at the chance to stretch out and keep my distance with others. By then, Air Canada had already cancelled its middle seat empty policy.
Although the flight was punctual and the staff went above and beyond to assist passengers, the in-flight experience was less than ideal. Passengers were provided with a hygiene kit consisting of a pair of gloves, a face mask, alcohol wipes, and alcohol rub, but the fold-out table I’m typing on right now still felt sticky around the edges before I cleaned it with an alcohol wipe. There was only one cold dish available for every meal with an information card that says:
“…we have also temporarily reduced our meal offering and will only be offering one option for all meals on today’s flight.”
I thought “option” implied choice.
Single meal “option” 
Air Canada hygiene kit
The long-haul segment of the journey was served by a brand-new Airbus A787-900 with fancy photo-chromatic panes on the window for electronic window control. Cabin lighting changed colour according to the time of day at the destination to help passengers adapt to the new time zone. In-flight entertainment was plentiful with large and touch-responsive screens.
The short-haul segment of the journey, however, paled in comparison to previous flight. The narrow-bodied Airbus A320-200 was at least three decades old and was equipped with a slow touchscreen that refreshed line-by-line from top to bottom taking painful seconds to transition from one menu page to the next. There is one upside to older aircraft: the seat pitch felt deeper than in newer aircraft.
Empty seats on the long-haul segment 
About a half hour after take-off, the flight attendants served drinks but regretted that food would not be served on the flight. I opted for Canada Dry while the blonde teenage girl sat next to me asked for peppermint tea. I’ve flown plenty but never heard anyone ask for peppermint tea on a short-haul flight. When the flight attendant informed the girl that her choice was not available, she also chose Canada Dry.
Things started getting interesting shortly after drinks were served when water mysteriously started raining down across the aisle form a panel gap in the overhead baggage compartment. The flight attendant came to diagnose the issue and concluded that heavy condensation from the air conditioning unit had caused the leak. Welcome to Canada.
Quarantine in Canada
Travellers are required to perform a self-declaration to border services via a mobile application to border services 48 hours before arrival to Canada. The digital form asks travellers for their travel history, medical situation, quarantine plans, as well as personal and contact details. Upon arrival, travellers have to hand in a paper form with the same questions as the app to hand in to a border officer at the port of entry. Here is where the similarities to Hong Kong end.
There was no secondary health inspection, no mandatory test for COVID-19, and no electronic bracelet. In fact, I was able to exit the airport’s security area in order to connect to my second flight to Ottawa. There were no security personnel guiding transiting passengers through to minimize contact with the general public and no cordoned lines to segregate transit passengers from greeters at the terminal.
Within the first week of my 14-day quarantine a healthcare professional swabbed me in my throat and both nostrils to get me tested. After testing negative again, I toughed out the last week of quarantine in this summer of quarantines. Oh, I forgot to mention that I already recovered from COVID-19 in April after a 3-week long battle with the virus. 7 of 52 weeks this year stuck at home represented 13% of my 2020.
