Flight staff wear masks, most seats are empty and the atmosphere is unusually subdued. Traveling by plane feels rather different right now, and Alaska Airlines flight attendant Molly Choma aims to capture this sudden upheaval in her photos.
Ninety-six percent of flights have been cut in the U.S., so Choma is one of few attendants still working. During her downtime, she takes out her Nikon and gets snapping. The sombre—and, often, quite moving—results are published on her Instagram.
Her flights now tend to carry between eight and 12 passengers, and most are either medical workers or family members traveling to see loved ones. Emotions can run high: "I’m just figuring out how to be there for people when you have nothing to give them except navigating them from point A to point B," she told Insider.
For Choma, the project is both a coping mechanism and an archive in the making. "Part of it is me processing how I am emotionally dealing with the situation, and part of it was wanting to preserve these memories," she says. "It’s really important to have the times on some sort of record. And to be appreciative when, eventually, the economy picks back up."
Until then, she promises to continue documenting her travels. Here are some of her best shots:
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