Due to the location of its business interests, the Atterbury Europe team travels a lot during normal circumstances. But 2020 has been anything but normal, and the regulations around Covid-19 has complicated air travel a hundredfold. We heard from the Netherlands-based team members how they have worked around the challenges.

How often do you typically travel for work, has this changed during the pandemic; and when was your last work trip? 

Henk Deist: I used to travel frequently for business, say once every two months, but the last travel I did pre-Covid was on vacation to Iceland in February.

CJ Wegner: I normally travel on a monthly basis to the various countries. And yes, this has changed significantly: during lockdown I’ve only travelled once to Cyprus (the only country which we are currently allowed to travel to from the Netherlands).

Martin Olivier: Before the pandemic I use to travel once or twice a month for work. Since the lockdown procedures started in March all travelling was stopped. My first business trip was only in July when we travelled to Cyprus again for the first time since the beginning of March.

If you’ve travelled during the pandemic, how much longer did your last trip take than normal, due to Covid-19?

Henk Deist: I travelled once to Cyprus in July. At the airport the check-in took forever, but security and passport control were a pleasure as there were very few people there. However, we had to take a Covid-19 test before flying and that took some extra time.

CJ Wegner: My experience was that going through airport security and passport control actually went quicker due to fewer people travelling at the moment.

Martin Olivier: Check-in had to happen at the counter, and wasn’t allowed electronically, so this took an hour. The rest of the movements through the airport were actually faster than in the past as there were still a limited amount of people travelling.

What is your best Covid air-travel tip? How should business travellers prepare for air travel during this time?

Henk Deist: Travel only when absolutely necessary and keep it short distance. Flying with a face mask on is uncomfortable; I suggest using disposable face masks, as you can breathe more easily through them.

CJ Wegner: The most important tip is to wash your hands as frequently as possible and avoid touching your face at all times. Business travellers should be prepared by always wearing a mask and having spares in your suitcase.

Martin Olivier: Airports are well managed and safe, so I would recommend rather go earlier to allow enough time for unexpected delays.

Is there a consistent policy about social distancing across the various airlines you have travelled on? Have you felt safe with the precautions in place?

Henk Deist: I felt really safe – the policies are strictly enforced.

CJ Wegner: All airports make mention of the generally accepted 1,5m social distancing measure, however, unfortunately when it comes to being on the run, standing in queues and people rushing to board their next flight – this measure is not strictly adhered to.

Martin Olivier: We only travelled with one airline. No open seats were kept as the plane was almost fully booked, but measures regarding the use of a face mask was strictly imposed. Everyone entering Cyprus also had to produce Covid-19 negative test results not older than 72 hours from arrival, so this also gave some reassurance as to the health of our fellow passengers.

Do you think that in terms of travel there are new precautions brought on by Covid-19 that should stay when things normalise? Any element of the new procedures that you particularly support?

Henk Deist: I’m not for any of the current precautions to be retained as it slows things down and are, quite frankly, a pain in the butt! But I do think the frequency of business travel will decrease permanently as people deal with as much as they can electronically and only travel to maintain the human contact and relationships.

CJ Wegner: The only practices I think should stay are the common sense ones such as frequent handwashing, which is of benefit to all travellers.

Martin Olivier: No, hopefully we can soon return to travelling as we knew it pre-Covid-19.