6 New Travel Essentials

Flying will never be the same again.

Are you stuck in your room scrolling throwback photos of your last trip too? With the deadly covid-19 now spread all over the world, travelling as we know it has been flipped upside down. Health safety may become an ever-present factor, thus, we must pack accordingly. Here are 6 new travel essentials to pack in your carry-on:

1. Face Masks

The use of face masks is ubiquitous, many airlines have started to require passengers to wear face masks onboard. It is a fact that wearing a face mask helps prevent the spread of covid-19 as it acts like a shield and prevents excessive face touching.

Remember to choose your face mask wisely though, it should fit snugly but comfortably because you should be wearing it 99% of the time. For a face mask to be effective, it has to fully cover your nose and mouth. Just as you would travel with a change of clothes, pack more than one face mask and switch it when it gets moist.

2. Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers

It is common sense that hand washing significantly reduce the spread of COVID-19, but when water and soap are not available, alcohol-based hand sanitizers will do too. They kill viruses and bacteria by dissolving their fat and cell membranes. But do check with your airline and airports, they may have a limitation for volume. Usually, you may take up to 12oz of hand sanitizer through airport security.

3. Disinfecting Wipes

Whip out your disinfecting wipes once you board the plane. Especially because viruses could survive up to a few days on surfaces, disinfecting commonly touched areas such as armrests, tray tables, seatbelts, even galleys and lavatories are highly effective. But be sure to dispose them safely. And don’t worry, disinfecting wipes are not wet enough to be treated as liquid, so you can bring as much as you want on the plane.

4. Plastic Ziplock Bags

This is how you will dispose your used disinfecting wipes on the plane.

5. Travelling Pen

Airlines are requiring passengers to fill in health declaration forms. Instead of asking for a pen or sharing one with your plane neighbour, you should always carry one.

6. Glasses instead of Contact Lens

By now you should know that it is not okay to touch our faces frequently. Wearing a face mask prevents contact of your mouth and nose, what about our eyes? We touch our eyes at least twice when we insert and remove contact lens. Switch to glasses instead, they act as an extra shield just like face masks. And do not worry about your appearance, health should always come first. Besides, no one can see you on the plane.

Flying as we know it will never be the same again, while we are privileged to travel again, we should always bear in mind to be considerate and keep our social distance.