Media Said Americans Were Afraid of Flying Under Trump. Air Travel Is Hitting Record Highs

It has been a recurring media theme this year that flying is scary again. The U.S. had its first deadly commercial aviation accident in 16 years in January, and DOGE cuts and air-traffic control issues have dominated the headlines:

• The Atlantic, January 31: “Fear of Flying Is Different Now: People worry about plane malfunctions. But the systems directing flight can be more dangerous.”
• Time, February 18: “What to Do If You’re Anxious About Flying Right Now“
• Associated Press, February 19: “Some of the 400 jobs that were cut at the FAA helped support air safety, a union says“
• The New Republic, February 21: “Trump’s Firing Spree at FAA Was Even More Terrible Than He Admitted“
• Business Insider, March 1: “Americans are afraid to fly after recent crashes — social media and DOGE aren’t helping“
• Slate, March 3: “Why Air Travel’s Getting Dangerous“
• Forbes, March 4: “Aviation Safety At Risk Amid DOGE Cuts And Shutdown Fears, Industry Leaders Tell Congress“
• Newsweek, March 6: “Americans Are Canceling Flights Over Safety Concerns“
• Axios, March 11: “Air traffic controllers are worried about safety, staffing and more“
• New York Post, March 13: “Fear of flying is hurting ticket sales after multiple plane crashes: Delta, American Airlines“
• PBS, March 16: “How DOGE’s cutbacks at the FAA could affect aviation safety“
• NBC Washington, March 19: “Air traffic control centers struggle with understaffing amidst DOGE layoffs“
• Truthout, April 11: “Another DC Plane Collision Puts Trump and Musk’s FAA Cuts in the Spotlight“
• Associated Press, April 23: “Worries about flying seem to be taking off. Here’s how to cope with in-flight anxiety“
• Huffington Post, May 11: “Transportation Secretary Gets Pressed Over Repeated Airport Failures And Musk’s FAA Cuts“

It doesn’t seem like most people are paying attention to the scaremongers. Air travel has never been more popular.

June 22 was the busiest day for commercial air travel in U.S. history. The TSA screened 3.1 million passengers that day. July 6 was the second-highest day, and July 20, yesterday, was third-highest, both over 3 million.

If it was really getting so much more dangerous to fly, fewer people would be doing it. Instead, it seems like the freak-out over safety under Trump has been confined to the media, while Americans flock to the airports in record numbers.