Should travelers rethink Europe plans because of the war in Ukraine?

With many travel restrictions finally relaxing in early 2022, Gabriele Antoni booked a trip she's been wanting to take for a while: several weeks in her home country of Germany, followed by a 12-day cruise in Norway with friends.The 64-year-old Florida resident and US green card holder hasn't been back to Germany since her mother died in February 2020. At that time, Antoni had to abruptly return to the United States, where she's lived for decades, to avoid border closures as the pandemic gained steam.

But ever since, she has longed to return to her small hometown of Sonthofen to "properly grieve" her mother, she says, by visiting cafes they frequented together and hiking where they once did in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps.In the lead-up to her trip, Antoni is busy booking hotels and flights, making arrangements with friends -- and, like many others with plans to visit Europe, keeping an eye on the horrifying headlines coming out of Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia on February 24."I am doing everything, but in the back of my mind, I tell myself, you might not be able to do this, you might not be able to get there," Antoni told CNN Travel.

Antoni isn't alone in her concerns. According to a recent survey conducted by MMGY Travel Intelligence, the research division of marketing research firm MMGY Global, the war in Ukraine is now twice as likely to impact Americans' travel plans to Europe as the coronavirus pandemic.