The Great Travel Meltdown of 2026 started taking shape at the end of February. At first, the U.S. war against Iran forced the cancellation or rerouting of many flights to the Middle East; then the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz drove up the price of jet fuel and threatened to cause crises for the major airlines. Though the two-week cease-fire announced last night may reopen the strait, prices are unlikely to rebound immediately. Separately, large numbers of TSA workers started staying home after a protracted budget fight in Congress left them working without pay for weeks on end. Airport-security lines snaked into terminal basements or out their front doors. President Trump deployed ICE agents at the nation's major airports, and although TSA workers are now receiving back pay, the funding situation isn't yet resolved. Getting somewhere by plane has always been an onerous proposition. If you search the phrase travel chaos on Google News, you will find that headlines about 'travel chaos' reoccur in batches about every six months, going back to the beginning of time. But as a result of recent, tragic world events, the state of consumer aviation seems to be deteriorating at a rapid pace. Now Americans with travel plans would like to know exactly how worried they should be, and exactly how worried everyone else already is....

Gabriel Vasquez, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, recently revealed he took nine flights from NYC to Stockholm in one year. While his visits included stops at companies like Lovable ' where he posted from its office ' the trips were also about finding future Swedish unicorns before they cross the Atlantic. This all came to light when news emerged that a16z had led a $2.3 million pre-seed round into Dentio, a Swedish startup that uses AI to help dentists' practices with admin work. While this is a small check for a firm that just announced new funds totaling $15 billion, it confirms that U.S. VCs are actively seeking deal flow outside of the U.S., even without local offices. Stockholm is a natural stop for a16z, which previously achieved significant returns from backing Skype, cofounded by Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennstrom. Since then, a significant number of fast-growing startups have been created in the Swedish capital, and the VC heavyweight tracked down where many of them were coming from....

It takes Aurora about 15 hours to carry freight in its driverless trucks on the 1,000-mile journey, according to the company. Human truck drivers take much longer to complete the same distance due to federal regulations that limit how long they can be behind the wheel. For instance, truck drivers must stop for a 30-minute break after eight hours and can operate a semitruck for a maximum of 11 hours at a time, according to federal regulations. Once drivers hit that threshold, they cannot get behind the wheel for another 10 hours. 'This represents more than a technological achievement,' Aurora co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson said during the company's earnings call Wednesday afternoon. 'It is the dawn of a superhuman future for freight.' It also offers compelling economics to its customers, which includes Uber Freight, Werner, FedEx, and Schneider. The company said that eventually it can cut transit times nearly in half, a stat that has won over companies like Hirschbach, an early customer on the Fort Worth-to-Phoenix route....

Law firms representing Google and Apple have warned that employees who need a visa stamp to re-enter the United States should avoid leaving the country due to longer-than-usual visa processing times, according to Business Insider. 'Given the recent updates and the possibility of unpredictable, extended delays when returning to the U.S., we strongly recommend that employees without a valid H-1B visa stamp avoid international travel for now,' the Fragomen memo reportedly said. Salon also reports that 'hundreds' of Indian professionals who traveled home to renew their U.S. work visas in December have had their U.S. embassy appointments canceled or rescheduled due to new requirements for social media vetting. TechCrunch has reached out to Google and Apple for comment. Both companies, along with other large tech employers, issued similar warnings in September when the White House announced that employers would have to pay a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications. Plan ahead for the 2026 StrictlyVC events. Hear straight-from-the-source candid insights in on-stage fireside sessions and meet the builders and backers shaping the industry. Join the waitlist to get first access to the lowest-priced tickets and important updates....