“To our Guests: all flights have been cancelled, and customer service is no longer available, we are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 34 years and had hoped to serve our Guests for many years to come.”

Following this message, they ceased all operations, leaving 277 flights on that day alone cancelled and the passengers stranded where they were.

Wall Street Journal first reported this turn of events was likely only the afternoon before, so the sudden shuttering caught a lot of people off guard.

In response, most major airlines have put out special offers and discounted rates to the people affected by the closure.

So now that Spirit is gone, how exactly did we get here?

Spirit Airlines Financial Issues

Spirit Airlines began its life as, believe it or not, Clipper Trucking Company in 1964. They appear to have been quite successful as by 1974, just ten years later, the company changed its name to Ground Air Transfer and then, only nine years after that, they changed their name again. In 1983, the company started flying as Charter One Airlines, which eventually changed its name, again, to Spirit Airlines in May of 1992.

Its business model was to offer very basic flights at ultra-low fares. Of course, as many people know, they would also throw in fees for any possible add-ons should you choose to buy them. This model let them undercut the larger players in the industry, even as those airlines merged and became more monopolistic in their markets.

As Spirit Airlines Shuts Down, a look back at when they started. By Aero Icarus from Zürich,

The next 28 years saw the airline grow consistently. At their peak, the carrier was the 7^th largest in the US. However, they ran into serious trouble during the COVID pandemic in 2020 when global travel ground to a halt. Although they, like their competitors in the industry, received financial aid in the Coronavirus Air, Relief and Economic Security Act, otherwise known as CARES, instability for the airline still followed the pandemic.

Beginning in February of 2022, there were several attempts by both Frontier and JetBlue to acquire Spirit Airlines. The first proposal came from Frontier Airlines, which offered a mix of cash and stock for $2.9 billion to Spirit’s shareholders. In April of the same year, JetBlue offered an all-cash deal worth $3.6 billion.

Both of these offers were initially rejected by Spirit’s shareholders. JetBlue was the first to be turned away in May of 2022, then came the rejection of Frontier in July of that year. In rejecting JetBlue, Spirit indicated that it believed that the Justice Department would reject the deal on the basis that it was anticompetitive. However, the rejection of Frontier seems to be a little more… simple. Spirit decided to reconsider JetBlue’s offer and accept it.

The warning that Spirit gave about the acquisition being challenged proved to be quite prescient, though, because it was. Over the next, nearly, two years the DOJ challenged the purchase and by March of 2024, JetBlue ended their efforts to acquire Spirit. In January of 2024, a judge blocked the takeover attempt writing in the decisions that the deal was anticompetitive. By November of that year, Spirit declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Only a few months later, in January of 2025, Frontier Airlines once again offered to purchase Spirit. The offer was for $2.1 billion in cash and stock but, unlike last time Spirit did not reject the offer. However, nothing seems to have ever come from this offer nor the negotiations.

Spirit completed their bankruptcy and restructuring that began in November 2024, in March but by August of 2025 they entered bankruptcy again.

The Final Nail

The final nail in the coffin for Spirit came in February 2026 when the United States and Israel engaged in a joint attack of Iran leading to the shutting down of the Strait of Hormuz. With the critical waterway shut down, gas and oil prices have continued to climb rapidly, affecting industries all over the world, including air travel. As you’ve likely heard, there’s a jet fuel shortage hitting Europe now, causing many airlines to cancel flights and consolidate schedules.

The shortage of fuel shot the price skyrocketing. These increases in costs pushed the flagging Spirit Airlines to the edge. In April of 2026, just last month, Spirit was seeking a government bailout to keep from collapsing. On May 1^st, those bailout negotiations with the Trump administration fell apart and less than 24 hours later they announced the complete shuttering of operations.

Spirit Airlines specifically cited the Iran War and the spiking fuel costs as the reason for its shutdown.

Conclusion

There were thousands of passengers left stranded by this closure, and I can only imagine how much luggage will forever remain lost. We are likely to see the fallout of this for years to come. There are now thousands of staff that are out of a job, and billions of dollars’ worth of equipment that is now sitting unused. There are also fewer options for consumers to choose for their travel.

I’m not sure why Spirit couldn’t come out of the pandemic with any amount of stability. There was a travel boom that sprung forth from lockdown being lifted, they just didn’t seem to be able to fully capitalize on it. By the time you’re reading this, most stranded passengers are likely already home or have sorted out their return plans.

On a personal note, to all of the staff that are now searching for what to do next, you have my empathy. I know all too well what it’s like to have your job unexpectedly taken from you. I wish you all the best in finding your next job or step in life.

*Image Credit: Acroterion – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=163002246

The post Spirit Airlines Shuts Down appeared first on Far Far Away Travels.

Importantly, EES is a different program than ETIAS, which is a separate program that we’ve covered previously. Because these two programs are being implemented around the same time, let’s highlight some of the details and differences.

EES:

• You don’t need to do anything before traveling.
• Biometric data will be collected at entry. Children under 12 years of age will not be fingerprinted.
• It does not require paying an entry fee.
• Applies to all non-EU and non-Schengen passport holders.

ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System)

• You do need to complete a digital application form before you travel.
• Basic traveler information will be collected at application, but this program does not capture biometric data.
• There is a €20 fee due at time of application. The fee can be waived for people under 18 and over 70.
• Applies to any visa-free nationals that are traveling to these European countries.

The EES should become faster over time, but it’s quite slow right now.

These two programs have different aims. Going through the EES happens every time a traveler enters or leaves any of these countries and it is intended to track the movements of travelers through them. ETIAS is intended to raise money and control entry before travel. Additionally, the EES is active now and ETIAS is being rolled out in the last quarter of 2026.

Right now, the EES seems to be slowing down entry to Europe. Just a matter of two weeks ago, we had personal experience entering the travel zone at the Lisbon cruise terminal. Disembarkation took several hours to clear customs. That’s not great news for upcoming travels but, in the long run, European officials hope that EES will speed up the process.

For the moment, make sure that you plan for extra time to enter Europe.

Also, please note that these changes do not apply to the UK which, rather famously, is not part of Europe, I mean the EU. Indeed, The United Kingdom has it’s own travel fees coming online.

Princess Pours Program, What Is It?

The next update that might interest our readers is a major one from Princess Cruises. Just over a week ago, Princess announced that they are launching a new POURS collection, which will be arriving this summer.

As the name implies, this program is Princess looking to step up their game in the cocktail and mocktail experience. This collection isn’t another beverage package, it’s more of a marketing stunt. Princess wants to capture people’s attention by showing off nice drinks, and they’ve pulled in celebrities to help with that.

The announcement includes promotional images with Matthew and Camila McConaughey, Liev Schreiber​, Jason Momoa, Blaine Halvorson, Jon Bon Jovi and Jesse Bongiovi, and more besides. These stars aren’t just there for pictures, they all have their own alcohols that will now be served on Princess Cruises’ ships. From the McConaughey’s Pantalones Tequila to Kylie Minogue’s no alcohol sparkling rosé.

With the POURS program, you’ll be saying, “Alright, alright, alright…”

As I said, this isn’t a new drinks package so these new beverages will be included in Princess Plus and Premier. Which is nice to hear, since those programs got a price hike a while back.

My favorite thing about this is that as part of this revamp, Princess Cruises is markedly increasing the number of mocktails and other non-alcoholic drinks on offer. This is wonderful news for any sailor that doesn’t drink alcohol, like Nichole. These new offerings include drinks like the Hibiscus Zenberry Crush and Golden Orchard, which bring a level of sophistication without the hangover.

Given the shifting trends in alcohol consumption by the youngest generations, Princess is likely reading the room and looking to enhance their options. With Gen Z consuming far less alcohol than previous generations, increasing NA offerings will appeal to a larger portion of that market. Older generations still consume alcohol at pretty much the same rate between them, but over the years consumers of all ages have trended toward higher quality and more sophisticated drinks. The POURS program hits both of those desires and will step up Princess’ game at the bar, which is something I’m quite glad to see them do.

United Airline Changes: The Good and the Bad

United Airlines has announced several changes recently which are being met with both joy and annoyance.

First, United announced that they will begin kicking people off flights should they be listening to music or shows without headphones. In other words, if someone is broadcasting whatever they are watching to the whole cabin, you may be removed from the plane. While I haven’t personally encountered behavior like this before, it was apparently happening enough that they felt the need to create a rule for it.

Let it be known that if you fly United, you should bring some headphones. Or maybe a book. I really loved A Gentleman In Moscow, so I would pick that up.

In slightly less welcome news, United recently announced Fare Options, separating each seat type into three new forms, Base, Standard, and Flexible. These fare options will have different costs and different rules associated with them.

New fares from United means that you’ll be paying more for miles.

For example, a Base fare ticket will be charged extra if you want to choose your seat location, while a Standard and Flexible fare will let you choose the seat. Similarly, the Base fare will get one checked bag, while the others will have 2 bags. Flexible operates much more like Standard, but can get a refund, while the other two typically do not.

Finally Base Fare, even in business class, doesn’t earn miles when flying or give lounge access. This means you could pay top dollar for a Polaris seat and not get to stay at their special lounge or get a single mile for the flight if you choose the Base Fare option.

This puts United much more in line with how Delta has operated since they announced their fare options around this time last year. All of this comes on the heels of United cutting back their milage program to make it much harder to earn miles outside of the higher-cost seats.

I’ve included a chart from United so you can see some of the restrictions placed on the base fare. The chart you see is specific to Polaris, which is United’s top tier long haul flight cabin. As you can see, the base fare has plenty of restrictions on it.

I wrote an article last year that asked if airline status is worth it. These changes give me one more reason to say, no. I say, fly the best rate in the best seat you care to pay for, and whichever airline that’s with is who you fly on – diamond be damned.

The post You Need To Plan For Long Wait Times With EES appeared first on Far Far Away Travels.

Late last week, an executive order was signed that commanded TSA agents to be paid. This should not be confused with Congress passing a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, far from it. Disfunction still remains within the halls of Capitol Hill and no bill to fund DHS has been passed by both chambers. However, airport wait times dropped on Monday to normal levels.

Where does that leave all of us?

What Was Going On?

The partial government shutdown that’s been going on for more than a month is over Department of Homeland Security funding. DHS includes the Coast Guard, TSA, and Customs and Border Protection, which houses ICE. That last agency is what the impasse revolves around, with Democrats refusing to fund ICE further and Republicans wanting to continue funding ICE as normal.

As the shutdown has dragged on, the funding to pay employees in DHS evaporated. ICE, however, was given a massive funding increase in the reconciliation process last year in Congress and they continue to be paid out of those funds. The relevant impacts for travelers is that ICE has now been deployed to airports and the TSA was working without pay.

I covered this previously and it remains true that it is unclear what ICE agents are doing or can do to support TSA operations. The lack of pay was driving callouts and resignations by TSA agents, leading to huge wait time increases at security screening checkpoints around the nation. Many commented, around the internet, that TSA agents working without pay while watching ICE agents get paid, further embittering them to the entire situation. I cannot say how true that is, but the sentiment is understandable.

TSA Gets Paid

Over the weekend, an executive order was issued that charged DHS to pay TSA employees. Monday, payments hit employee bank accounts and wait times at major airports seem to be down. How is that possible without funding from Congress?

Typically, the answer is, it’s not. However, the reconciliation bill passed last year, which contained the large funding increase for ICE, and is apparently being used to pay TSA agents. It remains unclear whether the move is legal or not. The impacts of the move are clear, though, as callouts at major airports have dropped so have the wait times at security checkpoints.

In the meantime, Congress failed to agree on a measure to restore DHS funding. The Senate passed a resolution to fund DHS, except for ICE, but the House rejected that and responded with their own measure that funded ICE and the rest of the DHS. In turn, the Senate rejected the House measure.

What Does This Mean For Travel?

While TSA agents have been paid, the measure is a temporary one at best. Congress holds the power of the purse and has been unable to agree on how to fund DHS. That means that no more funding is flowing to the agency, which is to say zero, than it was before the executive order to pay TSA agents.

Without an agreement from Congress, the root of the problem remains, and funding for the TSA will hang over every traveler’s head like the Sword of Damocles. It’s possible that someone challenges the legality of the payments, which could put us back at square one. It’s possible that this won’t last for long and we may find ourselves back here within a few weeks. The only remedy is passage of a funding bill, which the two chambers seem to be unable to agree on and the White House has indicated they may not sign even if they do pass legislation.

This funding failure by the U.S. elected representatives has put us all in a quagmire of uncertainty. In February, TSA PreCheck and Global Entrty were shut down. Then PreCheck was almost immediately reinstated following intense backlash from the public. Some days later, Global Entry resumed, although that bit of news was under reported by comparison because we were then dealing with the effects of war with Iran.

It’s good news that TSA agents are getting paid. When people do work, they must be paid for it. It would be better if they were paid in a way that didn’t raise questions of legality. For now, though, the crisis of wait times and paying TSA agents has been mitigated and the wait times at airports have gone back to normal.

The post Airport Wait Times Reduced to Normal as TSA is Paid appeared first on Far Far Away Travels.

TSA Staffing Issues

The Department of Homeland has been experiencing a partial shutdown for nearly 40 days now. TSA, Coast Guard, FEMA, and other agencies are all impacted by the impasse in the federal government. It’s been more than a month since TSA agents have been paid and it is affecting the staffing levels at airports.

Most of the staffing issues are being blamed on absenteeism. DHS officials have stated that recent call out rates are over 10% for security officers, compared to a typical rate of around 2%. That figure is an average and specific absenteeism rates for your airport may be higher or lower. DHS has also reported that 366 TSA officers have quit their job. I could not verify if the absentee or resignation rates are abnormally high, but not being paid does not incentivize going to work so an increase would make sense.

Reduced staffing has lead to increased wait times in airports all around the country. Screening lines in New Orleans, Atlanta, New York, and Houston, among many others, have been reported taking travelers hours to clear. Some travelers even posted to social media that they arrived more than four hours early to their New Orleans flight and still missed it.

The Trump administration has now deployed ICE agents to airports for the stated purpose of alleviating the burdens on TSA agents. The efficacy of that move is unknown at this point and the largest federal workers union has warned that ICE agents are not trained to be TSA agents and it won’t help the situation.

Airport Shutdowns

Adding to the worries is a lingering warning from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that small airports may shut down if funding is not restored. The comments were made last week to multiple outlets.

The Secretary warned that the shortage of screeners at TSA checkpoints may lead to closing “small airports.” There have not been specific airports listed, but the theory is that larger airports could consolidate their screening lines to fewer points to deal with reduced staffing but that smaller airports may only have one screening point that may be unstaffed. If there is no security screening, then passengers cannot board planes and the airport may need to close.

With hundreds of airports throughout the country, keeping any eye on your own airport and being ready for last minute adjustments is essential for you to do.

Rising Costs

The ongoing war with Iran has disrupted global shipping and energy supply. Plane ticket costs rose dramatically in some cases and have remained fairly flat in others. As a travel agency we have a unique perspective in that we are often quoting flights and tracking their costs for clients.

As I’ve written about, some flights that we’ve observed have risen by more than 20% in price since before the war began. Other flights have remained largely flat in price, rising only slightly, by only around $20.

Unpredictability appears to be the name of the game here. Trying to plan around pricing of flights does not appear to be following typical ups and downs and, like I said in other articles, buying when you are comfortable with the cost is the best approach right now. There are a few things that are holding true; buying flights several months out (4-7 months specifically) is better than buying closer, busier seasonal flights (like spring break to popular cities) are more expensive than slower times of the year, and using price trackers is a good idea. Google flights is a good tracker for the price of tickets if you’ve never used one before.

What can you do?

The most important thing to do right now is keep an eye on your local airport status. The DHS shutdown is rapidly evolving and is very unpredictable. I continue to see reports that there are productive conversations going on in congress. However, I’ve been seeing similar statements since the start of the shutdown, and I can’t say how accurate they are.

The shutdown may continue for some time, it also might be over by the time this is published. With no way to know, keep yourself apprised of what’s happening at your local airport. Obviously, you should also give yourself a lot of time to get through security. I mean at least 3 hours, maybe 4. If there are airport shutdowns, reaching out to the airline your are booked with is the best place to start.

I truly wish that I didn’t have to relay frustrating travel information to you, but my job is to keep you informed of things in travel you need to know, even if that news isn’t great.

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New Restaurant on the Valiant Lady

Just a matter of days ago, Virgin Voyages announced that they will be making an update to the Razzle Dazzle restaurant on the Valiant Lady. The fact that they are changing the restaurant isn’t news at this point, since they announced that they would be changing it quite some time ago, but we hadn’t learned what cuisine it would be until now.

The new establishment will be called Ariya and it will feature Indian dishes “reimagined with contemporary flair.” Frankly, I’m a bit clueless as to what that last part means and I’ve worked in food service to know puffery when I see it. Don’t misconstrue this, though, I am very much looking forward to trying the new restaurant.

Virgin Voyages’ New Restaraunt – Ariya

Virgin posted some delicious sounding previews from the menu:

• Golgappa Shot: crisp pani puri, chilled spiced herb water
• Malabar Coconut Crab Cake: golden crab cake, coconut spice, green papaya slaw
• Lamb Shank Biryani: papadum, fragrant saffron basmati
• Eggplant Saag Napoleon: roasted eggplant, creamy spinach saag, crisp papadum
• Gulab Jamun Stuffed Cheesecake: cheesecake, saffron-cardamom donut bites

There will also be a complimentary jaljeera, which they describe as, “a chilled blend of tamarind, cumin, mint, and lemon.” This will be served to greet sailors as they arrive at the restaurant, similar to the beverage served when you dine at Test Kitchen.

It’s long been speculated that Virgin would announce an Indian restaurant to update Razzle Dazzle. Previously they created Lucky Lotus and Rojo, which I wrote about and had very high praise for. The roots of Razzle Dazzle, were in vegan and vegetarian forward dishes, which Indian cuisine is exceptionally good at, making Aryia a wisely chosen successor.

Pier Changes in New York

The inaugural New York season for Virgin Voyages was centered at Pier 90 in Manhattan, where the ship’s departed from and returned to. However, Pier 90 is closed to receive infrastructure updates, creating capacity issues at the Manhattan terminal. Virgin moved their 2026 operations to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal as the capacity issues forced them to move.

Passengers who had booked impacted itineraries have been notified by the cruise line of the changes, but if you’re thinking about taking a New York sailing this Spring or Fall you should know that the departing location has changed. Here’s which sailings are impacted:

April of 2026

• 5-night Sailing: The Big Apple to Bermuda – April 6, 2026
• 5-night Sailing: Virgin Voyages Comedy Fest New York – April 11, 2026
• 9-night Sailing: Bermuda Beauty to East Coast Elegance – April 16, 2026
• 14-night Sailing: New York Transatlantic Crossing to Spain – April 25, 2026

September of 2026:

• 8-night Sailing: Fall Foliage in Canada & New England – September 19, 2026
• 5-night Sailing: The Big Apple to Bermuda – September 27, 2026

October of 2026:

• 5-night Sailing: The Big Apple to Bermuda – October 2, 2026
• 6-night Sailing: New York to Bermuda (& Back) – October 7, 2026
• 6-night Sailing: New York to Bermuda (& Back) – October 13, 2026
• 12-night Sailing: NY to San Juan: Bermuda & Caribbean – October 19, 2026

The difference in leaving from Brooklyn as opposed to Manhattan isn’t that much of an impact – as long as you go to the correct pier.

The Brilliant Lady Docked at Pier 90 in New York City

Having sailed from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, I can confidently say that, yes, it needs these updates. Literally, whatever they are updating it needs it. The staff handled everything wonderfully and boarding was incredibly smooth, but the infrastructure was obviously in need of refurbishment and replacement. The overhaul is more than replacing carpets and benches, this will be significant.

New York Sailings Disappear

What’s more concerning is that after the fall of 2026, New York appears nowhere on their deployment chart, which is a cruise line’s plan for where their ships will be deployed. That means that for 2027, Virgin Voyages will not be sailing from the Big Apple. The deployment chart that we have goes until March of 2028, so it is possible that New York may be restored in Spring and Summer of that year, but we cannot be sure.

As of writing Virgin has made no public comment on why they are abandoning one of their “home ports.” In 2024, when the Brilliant Lady was announced, Virgin proclaimed, with no small amount of fanfare, that New York would be a new East Coast home for them. The popular New York – Bahamas/Carolinas cruises make a strong seasonal market and the scarlet cruise line wanted a piece of it. It makes their backing out all the more mysterious and disappointing.

Virgin Voyages 2026-Mar 2028 Deploayment Chart

We have reached out to Virgin for comment and will update this piece if we get a response.  Until we are told otherwise, however, we can only speculate on why they are pulling out of this market – which is what I shall now do!

I suspect that this has something to do with the cruise terminal overhaul at Pier 90. When cruise companies make their schedules, they are looking 12-24 months out. The updates to Pier 90 are expected to take several years to complete and that is going to crunch the capacity of the New York market for the duration. That could mean that docking fees are rising in the area because of the reduction in capacity. It’s also possible that the availability of docks is incompatible with the other schedules that Virgin has already lined up.

It wouldn’t be the first time that Virgin has been forced to abandon a market due to forces outside their control. When the line launched, Australia and New Zeeland were very popular itineraries for them. They were selling well and people raved about the line in that market. Then, conflict broke out in Yemen and it made traversing the Red Sea quite a bit more dangerous, causing Virgin to cancel Australia and New Zeeland sailings. That conflict has not subsided and, as I’ve written about, the Middle East region hasn’t proven to be safer since then.

Hopefully we’ll see a restoration of the sailings from old New York, since I adored my time on one of them. Until then, there’s plenty of other reasons to visit the city.

The post Virgin Voyages New Restaurant and New York Changes appeared first on Far Far Away Travels.

Cancelled Cruises and Tours

There’s already been quite a bit written about the impact of cancelled flights in the Middle East due to the war against Iran, including my own. Thousands of travelers were stranded in the region with carriers working to re-route their travel plans through other airports if the airlines could fly at all. Even U.S. Embassies were telling U.S. citizens that they were unable to help get them home.

What hasn’t been covered as much (and, indeed, it is far less important) is that there have been cruise companies cancelling cruises in the region. Viking, one of the largest cruise companies in the world, cancelled Nile river cruises until the 12^th of March, which is a duration of not quite two weeks.

MSC Cruises cancelled sailings in the Arabian Gulf through the end of March and AmaWaterways made a similar move and suspended operations in Jordan and Dubai through the end of this month. Tauk land tours has also suspended their operations in multiple countries in the region, including Egypt, Jordan, and Isreal.

It is safe to assume that if you are a tour operator or cruise line working in the Middle East region, this war has stopped your business. At this time, most companies are indicating that they are resuming operations in April but, if the war continues, escalates, or expands, additional cancellations should be expected.

Spiking Fuel Costs

As drivers around the world are noting this week, fuel costs are increasing and, in some areas, the prices are skyrocketing. This is in direct response to the war on Iran and the disruptions it has caused. Since we are a travel agency, we see the cost of flights quite regularly and we’ve seen sharp increases even in a 24-hour period. Just today, we saw a $50 increase in price on a flight from the day before, which was a near 10% increase. The flight is in December.

Airlines feel the same squeeze motorists do at the pump, but the major carriers buy a lot more fuel than we do and they buy it using a lot of different mechanisms. They are, of course, passing the increased cost onto passengers right now. The price of your ticket is, at least in part, based on the current cost of fuel. Since the price of oil is increasing, we’re going to be paying more to fly.

Buying tickets now may save you money. It also may not. Given that the cause of the increase is a war, and war is unpredictable, we may see prices go back down fairly quickly or they may continue to rise. This is something that we cannot fully plan for.

Summer Delays in Europe

Not all the bad news is from the war, some of it is from new policy implementation. This summer, the European Commission is expected to fully implement their European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS). The new system requires travelers from countries that do not need visas, like from the U.S., to obtain an electronic travel authorization (ETA) before they leave on their flight.

Air travel problems are something we simply cannot avoid it seems.

The U.K. recently implemented a similar process, which I wrote about. The ETIAS system will have a fee of €20 with exemptions for under 18 and over 70. The ETA will, typically, remain valid for three years or until the passport expires.

The potential problems with this new system are the expected ones, namely ensuring that travelers register. If a passenger fails to get an ETA, they may be denied entry to the country and congest customs lines. That’s not the only thing that could go wrong, however. Systems failures, understaffing, unfamiliarity, and lack of training of agents can also contribute to delays.

This new system could cause hours of delays in entry for travelers. That could mean missed flights, tours, or hotel rooms.

What Can You Do?

Right now, I wouldn’t plan a trip this year to the Middle East. Egypt is likely safe, but everywhere east of it is going to be a problem. If the itinerary to your destination travels through airspace in the Middle East or stops at one of the airports in the region, I wouldn’t book that right now. No matter what you do, if your travels go anywhere near the region, I recommend that you get some sort of travel insurance.

If you need to book a flight, book it soon or wait it out and hope for oil prices to fall. There’s not really another option here, just choose whichever you feel best about.

Traveling to Europe likely won’t be that much of a challenge, but I would still plan for a delay. I’ve gone through European customs enough times to know that it’s not always the smoothest. I recall a customs line in Amsterdam with clerks shouting over the crowd to try and get info from passengers in an effort to triage the throngs of people awaiting entry. It… Well… It wasn’t great. We had a tight layover and they actually held the plane for us, something I’d never seen before or since.

If you leave yourself time, at least 3 hours between connections or other obligations, you should be safe.

The post More Air Travel Problems on the Horizon appeared first on Far Far Away Travels.

What Is Impacted

Over the weekend, airspace over large parts of the Middle East was closed. How long those closures will last is unknown but if past is any indication, it is likely to last for longer than a week. In June of 2025, when the last joint U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran was launched, the airspace disruption lasted for 12 days.

The only clarity to be found regarding travel disruptions is that they are happening. Airspace has already been closed in the region and passengers have already been stranded. To give a sense of scale to the disruption, the airports in Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE were just some of the countries that experienced flight cancellations.

Airlines have already advised passengers to keep a close eye on their flight status. A number of airlines have issued waivers to impacted passengers allowing rebooking their flight without paying additional fees or higher fares.

What To Expect

This is our take on the situation. If you are traveling to the region soon, definitely in the next two weeks, your flight will almost certainly be delayed or cancelled. Be ready to adjust your plans with no notice.

Travelers who are not traveling to the Middle East may not be directly impacted by the disruptions, but it is likely some knock-on effects will be felt. What those effects are remains unknown but there are a few things that could be easily imagined.

Increased security screening could be seen at all airports. The State Department indicated that this was a caution for U.S. citizens worldwide, which means here at home as well. Additional delays in TSA screening and customs is, in my opinion, likely. These delays are on top of any delays from the Department of Homeland Security’s decision last week to suspend Global Entry and TSA PreCheck (they quickly reinstated PreCheck).

The U.S. State Department’s Worldwide Travel Caution Could Herald Many Headaches.

Beyond the security delays, airlines themselves are massive machines and disrupting travel in one region can make things harder in other regions. I guarantee that you’ve had a flight delayed because a flight was delayed from another region. That could be because flight crew was needed from the other flight or it is just causing a disruption in takeoff and landing schedules.

The worldwide travel caution may also mean more crowded airports with more passengers on edge. Last-minute cancellations and delays could mean people stuck at terminals waiting hours or days. Those frustrations compound on everyone in the airport and airplane. Flight crews then have to deal with the additional pressure.

In short, be ready for tension and stress when traveling.

What Can You Do?

I give this advice to every single person who travels, regardless of the circumstances, timing, or destination: “Be aware, be prepared, and be reasonable.”

When you plan for the possibility of delays, it’s less stressful when they happen. If you get travel insurance, it can protect you from losses from disruptions. If you stay reasonable and calm, especially when dealing with employees of companies like Delta (think of gate agents and flight attendants), it will pay dividends.

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Pushback

Multiple groups gave immediate pushback to the announcement. The immediate concern from many people and organizations was the short notice of the change, which was a matter of a few hours before implementation. In that short of a time frame, especially given the early morning start, it gave travelers little opportunity to make adjustments to the travel schedule. The PreCheck program has more than 20 million people enrolled in it, making the sudden change immediately impactful to a large number of travelers. Further, that group is often among the most frequent fliers.

One of the groups pushing back on the move was U.S. Travel Association. Its CEO, Geoff Freeman, stated, “We are glad that DHS has decided to keep PreCheck operational and avoid a crisis of its own making.”

What makes this suspension particularly noteworthy, in addition to the break with precedent for keeping the programs operational during a government shutdown, is that these programs supported by the user fees. Both TSA PreCheck and Global entry charge a fee to participate in. The cost for PreCheck runs between $76.75 and $85 for a five year membership. Global Entry, meanwhile, costs $120 for a membership that also runs five years. As Freeman noted in his response, “they are funded by user fees, and there is no reason at this time for them to be suspended.”

What Should You Plan For?

As a travel agency, our advice is to plan for delays and changes. That’s solid advice with any travel plans, but we feel it doubly applies here. Given the context that these programs were suspended with a matter of a few hour notice, then one of them reopened just within the same day as the initial announcement, it is clear that travelers will need to be ready for sudden changes.

Something that hasn’t been discussed in the DHS announcements is the Clear program. If you are unfamiliar with Clear, it is a privately run program that works alongside TSA PreCheck in airports and allows for, potentially, faster screening, although PreCheck can sometimes be quicker. Since Clear is privately run and funded, it seems that they will not be impacted by the DHS program suspensions. The company stated on their Instagram page, “CLEAR is open and read to serve travelers, as well as our airline and airport partners.” For the time being, it seems that if you have a Clear membership, you can still take advantage of that program.

These aren’t the only new things shaping up with the TSA this year. Earlier, the agency announced new fees for travelers without REAL ID. This seems to be one more thing that travelers will need to prepare for these days.

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Climbing Number of Cruise Ship Outbreaks

2025 saw 23 recorded outbreaks on cruise ships. That number is up from 18 in 2024. That marks an increase of almost 27.8% year over year. This is a similar, but slightly slower, increase from the 2023-24, which was at a rate of around 28.6%. Both of these numbers are higher than the overall cruise passenger growth during that time, which is to say more people are cruising and they are getting sick more frequently.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, norovirus is by far and away the most common cause of illness. Of the recorded outbreaks last year, almost 74% of them were norovirus. That percentage could be higher since there are unknown illnesses, which means that VSP could not determine what the illness was. Typically, this is done with bacterial cultures made from samples taken from spaces the impacted people all had in common, like a dining area or the pool. Those do not always create clear results, such as a large culture of one type of bacteria. That means that even the unknown illnesses could also have been norovirus.

The Good News

I’m a silver lining sort of person, much to the irritation of many people around me, so I will almost always find the nugget of hope, but there is one to find here. Thus far in 2026, the number of recorded cruise ship outbreaks is lower than previous years at a similar point. We’ve just passed the halfway point of February and there’s only one (1) recorded outbreak at this time.

That number can increase as reports are slightly delayed from initial detection and reporting to the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP). The delay makes sense as it takes a bit of time to examine and culture problems areas and then log them in the system. As of writing (February 16^th), I could easily see an outbreak from the last two weeks not being entered, or even an ongoing outbreak that has yet to conclude from being reported.

However, if we can stick to an average of a single outbreak per month we’d be doing much better than 2025. Since January only had the one occurrence, we’re on track so far.

I can’t find anything specific from any cruise line regarding different approaches to maintenance, but after two years of increasing outbreak numbers it would strike me as sensible that at least some of them reassessed their protocols for cleaning.

What Does This Mean For You?

Putting this in perspective a bit, there were tens of millions of people taking cruises last year. Thousands of those cruises were in the US and were monitored by VSP. Only 23 recorded outbreaks. This is a small portion of the overall cruise industry, including its passengers and staff, that see this happen in a given year. The occurrence rate is trending in the right direction as well, so that portion of cruises that is impacted is getting smaller (for now).

Before we get too footloose and fancy-free regarding cruise ship outbreaks, let’s have a small reality check. We humans easily confuse the phrase, “small chance”, with the statement, “won’t happen.” Getting sick on a cruise can still happen, even if the chances are small. Protecting yourself is easy, though, and it’s mostly just washing your hands. You can read about how to stay healthy while traveling in this article, which I wrote just a few months ago.

The biggest takeaway for you, as a traveler, from this news is that if you wash your hands and cover your sneezes and coughs, you’ll be keeping yourself and everyone else safer.

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England

The most important change starting February 25, 2026 is an entry fee/authorization from the United Kingdom. For many years, visitors from 85 countries have been able to enter the UK without a visa. Among that list are the United States, Canada, and France. Starting on the above date, visitors from those countries will need to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization or ETA before their visit.

A prompt to obtain an ETA will be sent by air carriers before travel and the fee will be £16. The ETA is good for two years or until passport expiration, whichever is sooner. Once the ETA has been approved, the traveler can visit as many times as they wish until expiration of the ETA. Importantly, the need to acquire an ETA applies to those simply traveling through the United Kingdom on their way to another destination.

Lest you think that this can be paid upon entry, no, it must be paid for and approved before travel. If you do not have an ETA, you will be denied entry into the UK. The British government recommends that you allow for a minimum of 3 business days before your travel to obtain an ETA. They do note that most people currently receive a decision within minutes, but I would err on the safe side and give at least those 3 business days.

Mexico’s Archeological Sites

The ancient Mayans and Aztecs constructed some of the most stunning cities in all of history. Their beauty and complexity never cease to amaze visitors and impress upon them the scale of the society they built. Each year they attract tourists from all over the world to bask in their wonder, including us. This year it will be more expensive than before if you want to visit Mayan or Aztec sites in Mexico.

Nichole at Kohunlich Mayan Ruins in Mexico. (It was very bright that day)

Reportedly, the travel fees to enter the sites are increasing from 104 pesos to 209 pesos. Exchange rates shift but, at the time of writing, this is around $12 US. The stated increase appears to be for the most popular sites, like Chichén Itzá, Tulum, or Cobá. Other sites may see different increases in their price. Typically, these fees are rolled into the booking cost of excursions to the sites. Travelers to the locations will likely see an increase in the cost of booking the excursion rather than paying any fee when arriving at the park.

Rome’s Trevi Fountain

Although hardly the oldest structure in the city, Rome’s famed Trevi Fountain has certainly made a splash with tourists since its completion in 1762. Every day, the breathtaking Baroque water feature draws in thousands of visitors. That, it seems, has become a bit of a problem for the locals.

Starting this year, Rome will assess a €2 fee to enter the fountain. Before you read into that phrasing, no, you cannot enter the waters of the fountain. This also isn’t the only site in Rome that will introduce entry fees this year. The Napoleonic Museum, the Giovanni Barracco Museum, and the Villa of Maxentius will all be assessing entry fees.

These new fees come as European nations are grappling with ever-rising complaints about over tourism. Italy, in particular, has seen tourism explode in recent years. Popular ports like Venice and Rome have seen huge increases in the number of visitors. These fees are introduced to curb mass visitation or, at the very least, generate revenue to build infrastructure to better handle the massive influx of tourism.

I doubt that we’ve seen the last of these fees and, let me reiterate, I understand why many of them are being assessed. The more people travel, the harder it becomes to maintain an area. That being said, if you’d rather travel somewhere a little more off the beaten path, you may want to check out one of my favorite places in the world.

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