Travelling on airplanes is exciting despite (and partly because of) the huge numbers of other passengers that make doing anything in an airport slow: you have to wait in long lines to get to your ticket counter, you're lucky if you find a seat in gate lounge, and don't even mention waiting to get off an airplane. No matter what part of the word you're in, the bustling energy of an airport is something we take for granted.
But as people across the world enter their third, fourth or fifth week of self-isolation (although it feels like the 100th week), the airline industry has been all but deserted. That doesn't mean that airplanes have stopped flying - although many flights have been cancelled and some airlines have had to shut down. In order to keep their time slots, many flights must run as usual - regardless of how many passengers there are (or aren't) on the plane (which are fittingly called "ghost planes"). Aside from airline and airport workers, airports and airplanes across the globe have become deserted - something many people have never seen before. If, like most people, you're staying inside your home for the safety of humanity (good on ya), enjoy this photo collection of desolate airplanes and airports that eerily remind us more than ever that these are strange, unprecedented times.
Eerie emptiness inside Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
This "fully boarded plane" had 25 passengers to fill out 180 seats... plenty of leg room.
We're guessing this woman didn't have any trouble spotting her suitcase on the luggage carousel.
This passenger had the whole back of the plane to themselves - not something that normally happens very often.
The main terminal building at Denver International Airport.
Two travellers stick together inside an empty airport.
This plane only had 30 passengers on it.
A man stands inside a disturbingly empty airport.
This passenger had the airplane all to themselves on an EasyJet flight.
The O'Hare International Airport in Chicago looking deserted.
With so few people on airplanes, it's not hard to practice social distancing.
A very empty McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.
Two passengers walking through Taiwan's "dead" airport.
A British national on an empty flight headed out from China.
Terminal 8 looking eerily quiet at New York's JFK Airport.
A person wearing protective gear on an empty airplane.
An empty departures gate at Haneda Airport in Tokyo.
The pickup zone outside Terminal 8 at JFK Airport is usually bustling with cars and taxis, but now it is deserted.
A man wearing a face mask sits alone inside the check-in hall at Hong Kong International Airport.
This man was the only passenger on a flight to Italy, but he didn't seem to mind.
An empty arrivals hall at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, which is usually overflowing with passengers arriving to the iconic city.
No need to fight for a seat inside Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Some "ghost planes" have no passengers at all, but they're still required to fly their routes so the airline can keep their time slot.
A woman walks through a desolate International Departure Terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport.
Hong Kong International Airport is usually bustling with travellers, but these days it's almost deserted.
This Delta Air Lines flight only has one passenger.
The upside of travelling on airplanes during a pandemic is that passengers can hog the arm rests, spread their legs and take up all the space they need.
A quiet departures hall at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.
Passengers on a Delta Air Lines plane sit apart from each other to maintain social distancing.
A lone man walks through an empty airport.