If you must travel during the COVID-19 Coronavirus Outbreak – Here’s How to Do It Safely
These are vital and challenging times for all of us. Our team at AiroLuggage are also living through this moment with you, and are also experiencing the same horror you feel as this COVID 19 Coronavirus outbreak threatens to bring chaos and uncertainty and sickness into our lives, and into the lives of our loved ones, and into the hearts of our communities.
Crucially, our luggage delivery service has been considered by the UK Government to be an essential service. This means AiroLuggage will be staying OPEN throughout this crisis and will continue to offer the option of shipping your suitcases straight to your destination for those of you who have no option but to travel during this time. It’s people in your situation who we will be addressing today.
AiroLuggage can help you during COVID 19
Let’s face it, it’s going to be a stressful journey. Let our international luggage delivery service make things a little easier. If you find yourself in such a situation in the coming weeks and months, know that you can continue to ship your suitcases to regional, national, and international destinations with AiroLuggage as normal.
Complete our online booking form and let us deliver all your luggage for you completely stress free. Our lights are on. Our team remain on call. We stand ready to receive your order.
No delays when sending luggage ahead with COVID 19
You’ll be delighted to hear that this crisis has as yet had no impact on our ability to deliver
your luggage to its destination on time.
Since the outbreak of this coronavirus crisis in January, and the closing of major international through-fares and borders, we have been closely monitoring each delivery that we have carried out. All of them have been carried out on time without any unforeseen issues or delays.
No restrictions when sending luggage to most of the world…
We are still able to send your luggage ahead, even to parts of the world most affected by the COVID19 coronavirus. This means that the service we provide is largely unaffected by the crisis. So, yes, we can deliver your luggage to Germany, China, Spain, the USA, etc as normal.
However, there are some regions where we have been advised by our partner companies that service could have the possibility of being delayed. In the small north Italian city of Piacenza, for example, we have been told there is presently a shortage of delivery drivers healthy enough to make scheduled deliveries.
If you are travelling to exceptionally impacted regions like northern Italy at this time, have a quick chat with a member of our team. We will be able to give you the very latest advice on the situation and find a solution for you. We remain in close discussion with our partner companies in these parts of the world, and they are giving us the very latest on these changing situations.
… But we can’t ship to Hubei province just yet.
Hubei province in China, including the city of Wuhan where the coronavirus outbreak originated, remains closed off from the outside world. At the time of writing, it is still not possible for us to make deliveries to that region.
However, there have been positive signs in these last few days that restrictions will be eased shortly. At the time of writing, Wuhan has gone 5 days without a new coronavirus case being diagnosed, and the Chinese government have already begun the process of opening up access to the city once again.
Do not travel unless it is absolutely necessary.
To avoid risk of infection and spreading the virus, please stay at home and do not travel.
However…
We understand that for some of our clients not travelling during this period will not be an option, for a multitude of exceptional personal and professional reasons
Two weeks ago, I myself had to be evacuated from Ukraine. I was one month into a Russian language course in Khmelnystkyi. Suddenly Ukraine’s borders closed with just 24 hours notice, and stranded with me at the border were around 350 American Peace Corps volunteers, and a dozen or so startled Poles and Macedonians.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, there will likely be additional hazards for you to take into account when preparing for your journey. Borders have been tightened, flights are grounded, public transport to and from transport hubs in some cities will not be running, and restrictions are constantly changing.
With this in mind, here is some additional advice on how to travel safely during the COVID19 coronavirus outbreak – if you find that your really have to.
1 – Wear a Mask during your trip, if possible.
N95 surgical masks are 95% effective in protecting the wearer from COVID-19 particles. The science is not debatable, but there is an ethical discussion around the scarcity of N95 masks still on the market, and the lack of resources that panic buying of N95s have left behind for medical personnel.
We will leave you to make this judgement yourself. After all, if you are travelling in the midst of a global pandemic, in an enclosed space for a prolonged period of time, with possibly hundreds of other travellers – investing in an N95 may be the responsible thing to do for yourself, your fellow passengers, and those you come into contact with after your journey.
However, there are alternatives. Studies have shown that even a dust mask you can buy from your local hardware store will offer significant viral protection compared to wearing no mask at all. Meanwhile, wearing a scarf or bandana over your face is being encouraged by the US government, as it will at least stop you touching your face, and thus spreading bacteria to your nose and mouth.
2 – Check the latest travel restrictions
International travel is in flux right now. It may not be possible for you to travel through or via certain countries. We urge you to make sure your journey is possible right up until the moment you board your flight.
The Guardian has been updating this database on the latest travel restrictions as and when they occur. It doesn’t make for easy reading: free movement within the Schengen zone has been suspended; major transport hubs like New York City and Dubai are closed.
If you are flying, try to look for routes that don’t connect via countries enforcing 14 day quarantine periods, as this will likely not be allowed to through, and will likely be escorted to a hotel where you will remain at your personal expense.
If you are attempting to leave Europe at this time, leave urgently. Flights departing from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and London’s Heathrow are the biggest airports with the most flights still running.
3 – Take out travel insurance
The fallout from COVID-19 is going to be disastrous for the airline industry: Flybe has already collapsed; Cathay Pacific and Norwegian have both posted enormous losses; EasyJet, Ryanair, and Air France have all cancelled between 80% and 90% of their scheduled flights. There is no guarantee in this current climate that the flight that you book will ever take off.
If we can learn anything from the collapse of Thomas Cook last year: if the airline you were due to fly with goes under, it will be a long and bloody fight to get your money back. Both the risk of this happening and the cost of flights are too high right now: please take out travel insurance.
Or at least, pay for the flight with a credit card that offers travel insurance as a benefit. Your peace of mind will thank you.
4 – …and don’t forget to opt-in to our Cancellation Cover.
The airlines may not be able to provide you with the certainty you need at the moment. But if you use our door to door delivery service to send your luggage ahead, AiroLuggage can at least offer you maximum flexibility to react to uncertainty as and when it happens.
With a high likelihood of your flight being cancelled, and your travel plans being thrown into chaos at the last minute – we recommend ticking the ‘Cancellation Cover’ tick box when you fill out our booking form. This protection costs just an additional £10, and for that price you can cancel your order with us right up to the very last moment – when you hand over your suitcase to our team – and receive a full refund.
5 – Good Luck!
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our clients the very best of health. Over these last few years, we’ve delivered your luggage to Sweden, South Africa, Australia, and more. We’ve taken your baggage to Hong Kong, Trinidad and Italy. Hundreds more destinations, even.
In return, so many of you have written testimonials on our website and left glowing reviews about AiroLuggage all over the internet. Receiving so much positive feedback from all of you really motivates us to maintain the high standards of our door to door luggage delivery service. Also, we feel grateful to have been able to help such a lovely bunch of people transport their luggage and travel with comfort and freedom.
Over the coming weeks and months, between these awful news reports and statistics coming in from all over the world, we will be thinking of you.
Take care. Please stay at home, wash your hands and let us all hope this is over soon.
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