[Happinow]

I had recently made a post asking if Orlando Airport was busy and what vendors were open and many of you kindly responded. I have since taken my trip and have returned. Here is what I observed......

They say per CDC, masks should be worn at all times while in the airport, so we wore masks. The airport was not busy. TSA was an easy do and we didn’t have to wait in lines to get through.....just 1-2 people ahead of us....we got at the airport at 12:15 for a 2:00 pm flight.

There were food vendors open, some have shut down. We found the selection enough to satisfy our needs. While eating, we were able to take our masks off. Some people were sitting in areas with few people in them and had their masks off.

We flew South West. They didn’t have people line up as they usually do when waiting to board. They called people up 5-10 at a time. We were instructed to wear our masks throughout the flight. They did serve ice water and a package of snacks. We took our masks off to eat and drink, and after we finished we put them back on. Our flight out of Orlando to Raleigh, NC had 86 people on it. We were spaced out more than adequately.

On the return trip to Orlando, our plane had more people...I’d say 100-120. That still left the middle seats open and some rows had nobody in them. They flight crew told us that if the middle seat was needed, we were to use if needed. At this busier time, South West does not leave the middle seat open as they did earlier with Covid. The return flight crew told us they were serving light snacks and asked us to put our masks back on in between bites. For us, that was ridiculous, so we kept our masks off for the duration of eating our snacks......nobody said anything.

I must say that with all of the precautions taken when loading and seating, it basically did no good because when deplaning, everyone was once again on top of each other. Makes no sense to follow all of those precautions and then everyone get with inches of each other to get off the plane...🤷*♀️

Also, when reading getting on South West’s website, they say they spray disinfectant and anti-microbial spray on every surface, every night. That procedure only benefits the first flight out. After that, nothing is wiped down. If you fly that afternoon, you really don’t benefit from the cleaning done the night before, as by then hundreds of people have already flown. So, I continue to bring Lysol wipes and wipe down everything from the seat to the air flow vents. Don’t be misled by thinking they spray and disinfect after each flight....they don’t. With that said, I appreciate the fact that they are taking extra precautions with a Covid. We felt comfortable flying and will most likely fly again in the Spring. Hopefully this helped you with your flight plans or with your decision to fly or not.