On August 8, 2020, Taiwan's EVA Air invited travel-hungry passengers to a scenic tour of Taiwan and Japan (Credit: Eva Air Sanrio)

In a normal world, boarding an airplane that circles in the air for a few hours before returning to the same airport would have been considered laughable. However, in the COVID-19 pandemic era, where international travel has ground to a halt, "flights to nowhere," or "scenic flights," are becoming increasingly popular with homebound consumers eager to get on an airplane.