Hundreds of Christmas Eve flights cancelled in U.S. as omicron variant impacts industry
(The Center Square) – A surge in COVID-19 cases among airline workers led to more than 500 canceled flights across the U.S. and over 2,000 worldwide.
According to the airline tracking website FlightAware, 509 flights within, into or out of the U.S. have been cancelled on Christmas Eve, with 455 of them domestic flights.
United Airlines has cancelled 170 flights; Delta, 131; Spirit, 9; and American, 8. Southwest has yet to report any cancellations.
The omicron variant, the dominant coronavirus variant currently infecting people in the U.S., is being blamed for much of the staffing shortages. Bad weather in certain locations also is leading to cancellations.
Delta Air Lines said it exhausted “all options and resources” to cover scheduled flights, The New York Times reported.
JetBlue, Allegiant and other airlines have also cancelled flights.
Christmas Day flights also are being cancelled, with 195 so far within, into, or out of the U.S. and nearly 1,200 internationally.
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