People who have travelled for the first time since the pandemic – that has forced country borders to close or to impose tight restrictions – must have experienced the new normal as a sequence of hassles. From getting pre-departure and post arrival COVID-19 tests to preparing all the verification documents one needs whilst keeping an eye on the latest travel information just to be sure regulations have not changed.

I think the last thing anyone would want is to arrive at the airport with spouse and kids and lots of luggage and, after having queued for an hour, be refused to board the flight for the lack of appropriate papers. All right, maybe a little too bleak a picture here, but nonetheless it elicits the question of What is it in the new normal that travellers can look forward to?

Rediscovering the wonders of travel. Being deprived of something, such as the freedom to travel, often makes us realise for the first-time what life is without that something which we perhaps have hitherto taken for granted. For example, the liberty to be physically present at places we want to be and the authenticity of that experience which metaverse could never substitute, the physical and social well-being we gain from travel – having novel experiences, learning about foreign cultures, nurturing our human ability to mutually understand one another and accept differences, bonding relationship with our loved ones, just to name a few. We could revisit some very familiar cities and places experiencing them anew in ways we may have not noticed and felt before. There is much to discover and rediscover in the new normal when we travel.

Sustainable travel enjoyed by all. For travel to be enjoyed by all, it needs to be sustainable, and this has most certainly risen to our top-of-mind awareness, especially after the recent COP26, where alarming messages have been sent out around the world on the perilous state our planet is in. Needless to say, the travel industry needs to accelerate efforts in reducing carbon emission, but I think travellers too, if not already, will act more consciously on decisions around the environmental footprint that they leave behind, including air travel. This need not necessarily translate into a dichotomy between travel or environment, but it does call for travel to become more sustainable. A new form of travel could emerge as a result of changes in attitude and behaviour of travellers. A holiday trip could mean having fun and satisfying my hedonistic needs, while at the same time allow me to do my part in sustainability such as through impact tourism and carbon offsetting.

Exciting new forms of air mobility. Just as we are looking forward to discovering something new and exciting in travel, and indeed destinations are coming up with new themes such as on wellness and local immersive experiences, in air mobility too we will soon see new services emerge. Japan Airlines plans in 2025 to start air taxi service using eVTOL (electronic vertical take-off and landing vehicle), taking passengers from Kansai Airport to the Kansai Osaka World EXPO which will open the same year. EVTOL may appear sooner in some other countries, so it is certainly something to look out for.

There are many other things the new normal will bring us I reckon, and it is a bit like the beginning of a new era, where decades later we will most likely look back at the present and marvel at how things have changed. Advances in technology such as the use of digital credentials and travel passes will facilitate travel, so will new air mobility services such as eVTOL and supersonic flights that use sustainable aviation fuel. New destinations and a richer repertoire of activities that mixes pleasure and purpose will also emerge, making travel experiences more meaningful. These are but the tip of an iceberg in what I think will unfold before our eyes in the new normal. New experiences await us and there is I am sure much to look forward to.