East Side Vacations

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we travel, but it hasn't deterred our appetite for exploring. Here are a few tips on how to deal with travel's new challenges:

• Find out if any travel restrictions apply to your origin and destination before booking your flight. Also check if there are any conditions you'll have to follow on arrival, such as health testing.
• When you go through airport screening, keep your face mask on. You will be asked to briefly lower it to verify your identity. Travelers who refuse to wear a face mask may be fined and denied boarding.
• To avoid cross-contamination, position your boarding pass on the scanner yourself and then hold it up for inspection. Do not hand your pass directly to a TSA employee.
• TSA now allows passengers to take one container of hand sanitizer, up to 12 oz (350 ml) in size, in carry-on luggage. This will have to be removed from your bag for X-ray screening.
• To reduce handling during the screening process, place personal items such as your belt, phone and wallet into your carry-on instead of the bins.
• If you're taking food on the plane, put it in a clear plastic bag and then into a scanning bin. This reduces the likelihood that a TSA employee will need to touch your food container or carry-on bag for closer inspection.

As passengers and cabin crew start traveling once again, many airlines have implemented social distancing and other preventive measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Here are just some of them:

• United Airlines - this airline is known for providing passenger masks and cleaning with disinfectant.
• American Airlines - this airline is known for providing passenger masks and cleaning with disinfectant.
• Delta - this airline is known for electrostatic cleaning and cleaning with disinfectant.