How it started… How it’s going

Exactly one year ago at the start of the pandemic, I traveled out to California to visit my family and celebrate Mother’s Day and my dad’s birthday. This year I traveled out again at the same time of year. The comparison was like night and day. It’s incredible what a difference a year (and vaccines) makes.

First the video and photos from 2020 - HOW IT STARTED…

Empty airports, empty restaurants, empty planes. Onboard, Delta left middle/adjacent seats open and minimized onboard snack options. Masks were not yet mandated by federal law and flight attendant enforcement and compliance varied.

Same trip in 2021 - HOW IT’S GOING

The video and many of these pictures were taken in the same places in MSP airport as the prior year. Airports and flights are no longer empty. Middle seats are a thing of the past and snack service has returned. Masks are now federally mandated in all airports and onboard. Many travelers I spoke with were vaccinated and traveling for the first time since the pandemic began over a year ago. One casualty - the Thomas Cook foreign currency exchange…