Now, this is something we definitely don’t recommend doing: to circumvent their city’s lockdown measures, some Dubliners purchased a €9.99 Ryanair ticket to gain access to the airport and take advantage of the airport bars being open… and boasted about it on social media.
Here are the details of this slightly unusual story.
The situation with flights and bars
If you’ve ever been to Europe, you probably know that flights for under €10 are very common (this is in large part due to low airport fees, low taxes, and regulation that increases competition by allowing airlines from other countries to operate any route… the complete opposite of here in Canada, with the highest airfares in the developed world).
We’ve bought many €10 flights ourselves, many many times (we might have even done so this week…). Anyway, that’s why we keep telling you that traveling doesn’t have to be expensive: way too many people believe that myth even though there are so many ways to save when you know the pro tips.
And the other part of this situation is that bars are closed in many places, as indoor locations that don’t have HEPA filters that capture 99.9% of particles (which means literally every indoor location except hospitals and airplane cabins) are where the coronavirus has been known to spread.
That’s why it’s outright absurd to think that traveling is necessarily more dangerous than many irresponsible activities done by those who aren’t traveling. Especially those that involve substances that lower inhibitions and tend to eliminate the precautionary measures, which is objectively a lot worse than traveling safely and responsibly.
The cheap ticket trick
Bars in Dublin are currently closed as part of a coronavirus lockdown some guys who missed bars a bit too much decided to simply buy a cheap flight, go to the airport, and enjoy the bar there.
They posted about their “bright idea” on social media:
That could actually be an illegal trick, according to the Dublin Airport’s response. And even if you were to try the airport bar trick here… in Canada, you just can’t find cheap tickets to make a trip to the airport bar affordable anyway! A rare upside of our sky-high fares!
Now, to be honest… I’m guilty of using that cheap flight trick myself in the past to take advantage of my airport lounge access (it’s free, but you need a boarding pass to enter): I paid $10 for a flight and then threw the ticket away (it’s a long story). I’ve even gone to the airport to eat for free since I was close, back when some pre-security airport restaurants were included in my American Express Platinum Card’s lounge benefit.
But in my defense, that wasn’t during a pandemic. It was just to eat for free so I can have more money for travel, not to circumvent rules that aim to limit contact in a pandemic hotspot.
Follow the rules… wherever you go
If an area is under lockdown orders, you should definitely respect that to limit contacts. To be very clear: going somewhere that isn’t in a lockdown and is encouraging travelers to come is definitely legitimate if you take all the precautions and are comfortable with the many risks, but we certainly don’t recommend you go disobey local rules.
Anyway, hopefully, if you travel, you’ll go somewhere where the coronavirus situation is better and where you can have a great time by following all their rules.
Yes, a trip can be amazing even if bars are closed, believe it or not 😉
Of course, sadly for many travelers vacationers, their only known definition of travel is going to a resort and having absolutely no contact with locals… so at Flytrippers, we’ll continue our work to encourage and help Canadians discover the benefits of travel and explore new cultures.
Even for those who are travelers and enjoy a sunny vacation from time to time too, we’ll have an upcoming post about how to combine vacationing and traveling to at least make the enjoyable experience of a sunny holiday a bit more authentic, because it’s easy to do both (and a lot more gratifying in our opinion!).
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Summary
Buying a cheap flight to enter the airport and chill at the bar during a lockdown is not the best idea.
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Featured image: airport bar (photo credit: SBSTNC)
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