It was more than 30 years that I first saw a group of Asian tourists wearing face masks. I was not impressed.

I understood that the air might be polluted wherever they were coming from, but this was Canada. You would think they would take off their masks and enjoy our fresh air.

In 2020 there are no tourists – and those people who do travel are required to wear a mask.

Nowadays everyone wears a mask when traveling. Welcome to 2020. And it isn’t air pollution that is the concern.

So what does the concerned traveler wear this year? Judging from this picture I snapped in the Frankfurt airport, a hazmat suit is the height of fashion.

I must admit, I was unimpressed, even more unimpressed than I was when I first saw tourists with masks all those years ago. I figure somebody is making a quick buck selling these suits to the gullible.

It isn’t that I doubt the value of such clothing (though I do wonder about the quality of these suits compared to those worn by people cleaning up nuclear spills). It is that I think hazardous materials suits are only truly effective when worn so that they completely isolate you from the environment. Maybe I’m wrong on that.

I was trying to be unobtrusive, which is why the pics aren’t the greatest. I don’t think this is a trend that will catch on in most places – but there were a number of Asians in the airport wearing similar gear.

Then again, airlines are having difficulty attracting customers these days. Maybe they would have more customers if they issued each passenger protective clothing.

Do you think that would work?