Travel News to Know - July 11, 2025
Plus the state of air travel in the U.S. & visiting Turkey
Good morning -
Back from a whirlwind two weeks in the U.S. and very happy to be home. It was a great trip (and I miss bagel breakfast sandwiches), but Midwest summer is only rivaled by Italian summer, and I’m excited to dive into the Mediterranean later this month, drink salty white wines with saltwater in my hair, and eat all the seafood and gelato I can. Highly recommend either Great Lakes or Italian beaches. So different, both so good.
What I do not recommend is a 20+ hour travel day with a one-year-old, especially if that travel day includes a layover in Newark, travel purgatory. Back in April, hundreds of flights were cancelled out of Newark due to air traffic controller shortages, technology issues, and weather. The Federal Aviation Administration limited the flights in and out of Newark and said they would increase numbers in June. Welp…they’ve now extended the limitations through the end of 2025. They are limited to 25 arrivals and departures per hour during weekend construction and 34 per hour during other periods.
Flying from Newark to Venice on July 7, I looked at the departures board and saw cancellation after cancellation, interspersed with delays. Our flight seemed to be the only one on time. I got the below text four times, but our flight boarded on schedule.
We settled into the full flight and sat. And sat and sat. The captain would come on every once in a while to say we were waiting for our turn, to say another plane was arriving we now had to wait again, to say it would only be another 30 minutes (!!), etc. We sat on the tarmac for an hour and 20 minutes. Alone, I wouldn’t have minded so much. I’d be halfway through a movie. But anyone who has ever flown with a baby, especially one who just learned to walk and wants to move at all times, knows every minute of being contained in a small seat is a minute too long.
Newark is particularly bad. Other airports are not having the same issues, though air traffic controller shortages are a problem nationwide. But even if you’re not flying through Newark, air travel in the U.S. is just bad. There are fewer lounges the general public can access (like “The Club” lounges or others available on Priority Pass or other lounge passes), partly because there are so many airline lounges. But airline lounges are getting harder and harder (more expensive, more status) to access. American airports have great food and beverage options, but they are sooo expensive.
The airlines seem to constantly be gouging customers, taking away free bags, making it more expensive to select not that good of seats, devaluing miles, taking away perks (not to mention the food is worse than most international airlines). Not one U.S. airline makes the top 20 of Skytrax’s 100 best airlines (Delta is 22nd). Pretty embarrassing for the wealthiest country in the world with all the best aerospace engineering universities, that prides itself on innovation, with a population that annually spends more than $1 trillion on travel.
I’ve never loved air travel more than when I lived in the UAE and regularly flew Emirates and Etihad. But I’ll take Ryanair any day—at least it’s inexpensive! U.S. airlines charge ridiculous fares the most basic service—getting you to your destination—and often they can’t even do that on time.
Oh also, the WiFi didn’t work. Sorry to paid subscribers who got Monday’s newsletter a day late!
ANYWAY.
Visit Turkey
This week, paid subscribers got a guide to Gaziantep, a food destination I can’t believe isn’t on more people’s radar. Istanbul is extremely popular, but Gaziantep is where you should go to eat. The baklava is often called the best in the world. It’s so good we even ordered it to Italy for our wedding!
(Related from NPR: A baklava crawl in the Turkish city that’s obsessed with the pastry)
Turkey is a great year-round destination, but if you’re headed there this summer, here are a couple beachy stories from past years traveling around the country. I was hoping to make it back this summer but some life circumstances are taking up lots of my time (more on that in a few weeks). Sadly, my dreams of floating in the sea in Çökertme will have to wait.
I also wrote this guide to Trabzon and northeastern Turkey for The Independent.
If you visit Turkey, eat some börek for me. ⤵️
Travel News to Know
Air travel:
Speaking of the FAA, the Senate confirmed Bryan Bedford as administrator last week. Bedford led Republic Airways from 1999 until this year. While there, Republic Airways applied for permission from the FAA to cut flight training hours from 1,500 to 750 for certain students. Democrats unanimously opposed his nomination.
U.S. airlines are selling your data to the Department of Homeland Security. Airlines Reporting Corporation, which is owned by eight major airlines, sold its database to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, giving ICE access to its Travel Intelligence Program database through May 2028. ICE can search the database for names and credit card info and get full flight details. Travel + Leisure has more on why this matters and how you can try to protect yourself (especially important for non U.S. citizens flying to the U.S.)
There is some good news for air travel in the U.S.! You can now keep your shoes on at most security checkpoints.
More air travel news: Oman Air joined OneWorld Alliance on July 1. Emirates will now accept Bitcoin. Air Canada expanded winter routes to South America. Passengers will soon be able to board flights within the EU with just a boarding pass, no ID. (The rule is in place in Italy already.)
Climate:
It’s been hot in Europe. About 2,300 people died of heat-related causes in 12 European cities from July 2-9. Of those, 1,500 deaths were linked to climate change.
More climate news: Marseille Airport was temporarily closed Tuesday due to wildfires and fires continue in Greece and Turkey. Flights to Bali were cancelled as Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupted.
And of course, at least 120 people died in Texas floods, including at least 24 girls at summer camp. I can’t stop thinking about those girls, including the survivors, off on a summer adventure, some of them spending their first time away from home, and how scary it must have been.
Tourism:
The “Big Beautiful Bill Act” cut Brand USA’s funding by 80 percent. The organization promotes travel to the U.S. and now has $20 million instead of $100 million to market to do so. This is not good news for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics, where marketing to international audiences and their tourism dollars is a big deal.
Legloland opened its first resort in China in Shanghai on July 5. 85 million bricks!
President Trump signed an executive order on July 3 that will increase national park entry fees for foreign tourists, change or remove reservation systems for some parks, and deprioritize DEI efforts at national parks, forests, and other public lands.
South Africa plans to launch a mandatory electronic travel authorization for anyone arriving at Cape Town International Airport or Tambo International Airport (and eventually additional ports) in September.
Europe continues to invest in long-distance rail. A new route from Copenhagen to Prague is set to launch in May 2026.
Weekend Reading
In Copenhagen, visitors can earn rewards for participating in eco-friendly activities
Black Americans are moving to Ghana––and driving up the cost of living for everyone around them
Restaurants are still printing postcards. It has nothing to do with mail (I love a restaurant postcard!)
On Instagram, recipe sharing automation is here to stay (I really dislike this trend)
Re-upping this post from a few years ago based on some recent Substack dialogue scorning tourists. It’s ok to be a tourist!! Just try to be a respectful one.
Thanks for reading! I’m off to the Italian side of Mont Blanc to run a half marathon... If I would have known how badly jet lag would impact Stella’s, and therefore all of our, sleep, I probably wouldn’t have signed up. Wish me luck! 😅
-Rebecca 💛
Really important point about the impact of Trump policies on travelling to the US for the World Cup and the Olympics! I'm going to be watching this closely to see if FIFA has any influence on easing visa restrictions. They, and also the 11 US cities hosting (out of the 16 total cities!), are set to lose SO MUCH MONEY if the restrictions remain so difficult that no one wants to attend.
(As an American living in Jordan, and with Jordan in the WC for the first time ever, I can't help but feel soooo much for my Jordanian friends and colleagues.)
All of this is just.so.frustrating.