[php] if else condition in blade file (laravel 5.3)

No curly braces required you can directly write

@if($user->status =='waiting')         
      <td><a href="#" class="viewPopLink btn btn-default1" role="button" data-id="{{ $user->travel_id }}" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#myModal">Approve/Reject<a></td>         
@else
      <td>{{ $user->status }}</td>        
@endif