With Flights Around the World Grounded Due to Covid-19, Airlines Are Launching ‘Flights to Nowhere’

You need a very long selfie stick to fit a whole airplane in the background.

But these passengers want a memento of the very unusual journey they're about to take.

In just a few moments, they'll be boarding StarLux's flight JX-8227, billed as "Fly to the Moon" - or a flight to nowhere.

While many flights around the world are grounded due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this one will take off and land at the same airport.

Scheduled during the Mid-Autumn Festival, it will take passengers on a sightseeing trip, to look at the world from above.

"On a conventional flight, you are not sure where you are. Passengers can only watch a map and guess where they might be," explains Emma Liu, cabin chief for the flight.

"And because of the COVID-19 pandemic, people cannot travel abroad. But we are able to provide this kind of service (to take passengers sightseeing from above), and I feel proud and happy about that."

Phones are out as passengers snap pictures of their aerial view.

The Airbus A321neo takes a route over the Japanese island Miyakojima and also flies around Taiwan twice; first clockwise, then counterclockwise.

When they get close to a place of interest, the aircraft descends to a lower altitude, so everyone can take a closer look.

"I was very surprised that it flew over Miyakojima. Seen from above, I discovered that their lands are very well organized, they are very beautiful seen from the sky. Fortunately, there was not much cloud over the island. It was a very special experience," says Tessa Ko, an IT engineer and passenger.

It's a whole new reason to fly.

Instead of being merely a way to get from A to B, cabin chief Emma Liu says it becomes a more engaging experience for both passengers and cabin crew.

"Passengers have deeper experiences on 'flights to nowhere' and we (flight attendants) have more interactions with them," she says.

For those who work in the currently crippled travel industry, this is a nice reminder of life pre-pandemic.

"I am myself working in the travel industry. Currently I cannot travel abroad because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is why I take advantage of this 'flight to nowhere' to fly and relax a bit," says one man.

Six of these special flights have been scheduled across 1 and 2 of October. Due to popular demand, a seventh flight is booked for 3 October.

But these are not big money makers for StarLux.

"Airline companies offer 'flights to nowhere' because they are forced to. This is also because we need to meet people's need to fly. Of course, if we talk about the economic benefits, 'flights to nowhere' are barely beneficial to airline companies," says Nieh Kuo-wei, a spokesperson for StarLux.

The flights to nowhere take off and land at northern Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport.

EvaAir, another Taiwanese airline, is also offering "flights to nowhere" until the end of this year to meet the needs of passengers who want to experience the joys of air travel.

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