Kara Richardson had been looking forward to mid-March.
The Georgia-based travel content creator had mapped out a trip to Orange County, California, where she planned to attend the Overland Expo. However, in the days leading up to her flight, a cascade of headlines – from geopolitical tensions to airport disruptions – began to chip away at her confidence in traveling at all.
After reading reports that the FBI had warned California authorities of a potential attack by Iran on the West Coast – though the agency said it did not have substantial verified intelligence to back the claim up – she decided not to go.
“It spooked me enough that I was like, I think I’m just going to sit this one out,” the 42-year-old told USA TODAY.
Other developments only reinforced her decision: a Southwest Airlines flight diverted over a possible security issue, long lines at airports and rising airfares on her route.
Richardson, who typically travels five or six times a year with her husband Duane, chose to stay home instead.
Her hesitation reflects a broader moment of turbulence across the travel industry – one driven not by a single crisis, but by a convergence of them.
A New Kind of Travel Anxiety
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel demand collapsed under the weight of health concerns and government restrictions. In spring 2026, the pressures are more diffuse but no less impactful.
Geopolitical tensions – including the war in Iran – have revived fears of terrorism and instability. Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told CNBC that the United States is operating in a “heightened security threat environment because of the fact that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism.”
For some travelers, those warnings are hitting close to home.
Kate Swarthout, 50, prepared for a long-planned trip to visit family in New Zealand this past week. But her mindset around flying shifted dramatically.
“And even though I’m still really nervous and … more nervous about the domestic portion than the international, I just felt like it was worthwhile for me to go and to try to put my fears aside,” the California resident said. “But in saying that, I can tell you right now, I’m going to be a mess on this flight.”
Swarthout had largely overcome a lifelong fear of flying – until now.
“I was in my mid-20s during 9/11, and those visuals are very much alive,” she told USA TODAY.
While aviation experts continue to emphasize that the risk to air travel remains low – and that potential threats extend beyond airports and planes – the psychological impact is harder to quantify.
In the lead-up to her trip, Swarthout has turned to coping strategies like EFT (emotional freedom technique) tapping, meditation, and downloading “favorite comfort shows” and movies, including “Ted Lasso,” “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Anyone But You.”
Still, the experience has prompted her to rethink future plans.
Though she typically flies at least once a month, she said she is “really reconsidering doing domestic travel for the near future.”
Disruptions at Home: Shutdown and Security Lines
Even travelers willing to push past safety fears are encountering practical hurdles closer to home.
A partial government shutdown has strained the Transportation Security Administration, contributing to longer security lines at airports across the country. Staffing shortages have forced some travelers to build in significantly more time before flights – sometimes hours more than usual.
For travelers like Richardson, that uncertainty is enough to derail plans entirely.
“We typically have to start (trips) in Atlanta, which … is the busiest airport in the world,” she said. “And even though we have TSA PreCheck, I thought even if I were to just go, ‘OK, you can do this, you don’t have to be spooked,’ am I supposed to get to the airport eight hours before my flight? Like, am I supposed to stay the night before? What am I supposed to do here?”
The usual advice to arrive two hours early for domestic flights and three hours for international trips has become less reliable amid fluctuating wait times and staffing levels.
For frequent travelers accustomed to efficiency, the idea of arriving at the airport half a day early can feel untenable.
Rising Costs Add Another Layer
At the same time, economic pressures are making travel more expensive.
Rising gas prices have pushed up jet fuel costs, a major expense for airlines. Those increases are often passed on to consumers in the form of higher airfares – another factor Richardson cited as a reason for canceling her trip.
While demand for travel surged in the years immediately following pandemic restrictions, price sensitivity appears to be returning as economic uncertainty grows.
What the Data Shows: Softening Demand, Shifting Routes
Early indicators suggest that these overlapping concerns are beginning to affect global travel patterns.
According to Cirium, an aviation analytics company, advance-booking directional data show a notable decline in transatlantic travel demand for summer 2026.
Bookings from Europe to the U.S. have fallen 15.34% year over year, while bookings from the U.S. to Europe are down 11.19% year over year. The data compares travel taking place in July 2026 with July 2025, based on bookings made through online travel agencies and global distribution systems between Oct. 7, 2025, and March 14, versus the same booking window a year earlier.
The declines mark a slight dip from earlier in the year, when Europe–U.S. bookings were down 14.22%, and U.S.–Europe bookings were down 7.27%.
The trend aligns with anecdotal reports from travelers who are reconsidering or postponing trips.
But the impact is not uniform across all regions.
In the Middle East, where airspace disruptions have complicated flight routes, the data shows “pockets of disruption” rather than widespread declines.
For example, bookings from Australia to Europe that avoid connections through major Middle Eastern hubs like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Bahrain have surged – up 48.6% since Feb. 28, with year-over-year bookings up 24%. The increase suggests travelers are actively rerouting to avoid certain regions.
World Cup Travel Shows Resilience, but Not Immunity
Even major global events are not entirely insulated from the current climate.
Bookings from Europe to FIFA World Cup host cities in North America – including New York/New Jersey, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Miami – are down 6.7% year over year for travel in June 2026, according to Cirium.
Canada has seen a smaller dip of 1.5%, while bookings to Mexico are down 6.4%.
City-level data show sharper declines from certain European hubs. For example, bookings from Frankfurt to the U.S. are down 35.74%, while Amsterdam-origin bookings have dropped 22.91%, suggesting that even marquee events are contending with the same headwinds affecting the broader industry.
On the U.S. side, demand to major European destinations has also softened, with bookings to Frankfurt down 26.8% and London down 11.31%.
For now, some U.S. travelers are adopting a cautious stance.
Richardson and her husband still plan to visit Glacier National Park this summer, but they are holding off on booking additional trips, at least until the government shutdown resolves. For others, like Swarthout, that means pushing through anxiety to keep long-standing plans.
Contributing: Zach Wichter, Eve Chen and Josh Rivera; USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why some travelers are canceling trips right now
Reporting by Nathan Diller, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
