Coming down from the crew bunk after my 2.5-hour rest period, I realized something had changed. My colleagues looked tense and paranoid, one of them even put on a pair of goggles. I was a bit confused until my senior purser told me that she didn’t have time to prepare for the next service because we had a medical case. Without asking further questions, what came to my mind immediately was Convid-19.

On 12 March 2020, Boris Johnson announced on a press conference that the UK government wouldn’t trace or test all the suspected cases and asked the public to prepare to lose their loved ones before their time. Since the horrifying statement, a large number of Chinese students in the UK have begun packing their bags and grabbing the ultra-expensive last-minute plane tickets to escape the country. I was called to operate a flight from Hong Kong to Manchester on 17 March and back on 20 March. Expectedly, the return flight was full, carrying a lot of Chinese students, most of them have a mask on and some were wearing self-made or even the proper PPE. It’s also the first time I saw that many teenagers sitting in business class.

According to our cabin crew experience, Manchester flights are always the toughest. The last time I did it was two years ago and it’s horrible. All the call lights were on in economy class after meal service, asking for more drinks, snacks and cup noodles. I’m not joking, all of them. It’s my job to serve, but I definitely couldn’t entertain a hundred passengers with only two hands. This time was different. Many passengers opted not to have their meals as they’re scared to pull their masks down. They’re right.

When I was at my rest, a passenger around 18 years old was complained of coughing a lot. After some interrogation, he admitted that he had a fever and consulted a doctor on 13 March who then advised him to stay home for 14 days. On the sixth day of the supposed isolation, he not only left home but the country, getting on our flight with 334 passengers and 13 cabin crew. How could he do that? I understand his fear of not getting proper treatment in the UK, but it’s still totally irresponsible. He was putting everybody at risk. I’m sure he wasn’t the only one. When it comes to survival, people become selfish.

On 16 March, the UK president switched his “herd immunity” approach towards Coronavirus to much stricter measures. And the Hong Kong government would ban the entry of non-residents from 25 March regarding to the overwhelming surge of imported cases. It’s better late than never, and I hope the incident in my flight isn’t going to happen again. Without the proper gear, we, cabin crew, feel so vulnerable to have close contact with passengers.

I’m self-quarantining at home, checking Coronavirus updates from time to time, worrying those symptoms would come to find me the next morning. I’m not in the mood to write about travel stories so I think I may share this haunting experience with you. If you think it’s torturing to be locked down at home, how about the people who are fighting the virus? How about the unfortunates who have lost their loved one before their time?