Back in the skies
Cabin Crew R:
I started writing this blog post a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted to share how happy I was, that things were gradually getting back to normal. In the meantime, the Omikron variant has arrived, and it looks like we might need to take a step backwards, before moving forward again. Though while we hold our breath, and hope for the best, I will share, what I originally wrote before we knew about Omikron, and after I returned to my airline job:
It is great to see that people have started flying again. Most of our flights are completely full, and the passengers seem almost ecstatic to be able to travel again. People buy a lot of drinks and snacks on board, much more than before the pandemic, and they are generally very polite and in a good mood, in spite of the restrictions that are still in force, and adds time and complexity to their trip.
My colleagues are also happy to be back, and it is interesting to catch up and hear how they have spent their time on the ground. During the pandemic, many of the pilots have been working as bus drivers, taxi drivers and garbage collectors, while many of my cabin crew colleagues have been working at Covid test centers and at the border police. While most of us have been missing our airline jobs, it has been somewhat reassuring to know, that the skills we have acquired from the airline industry have turned out to be valuable to employers in other industries too, and that the large majority of my laid-off or furloughed colleagues managed to find other employment quickly.
This week I am in Oslo, and this is the view from my room. I love the holiday month, and back home, I have Christmas decorations all over the place. I therefore thought I would bring a little bit of “julehygge” (Christmas spirit) with me on my layover, and if you have any layovers in December, I would recommend you to do the same. It makes the hotel room and thus the layover and the time spent away from your loved ones so much nicer. Dinner tonight? Probably Peppes. Norway’s famous (and very nice) pizza chain, and one of the only places open for food at the airport.
