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Omicron-related disruptions cause over 4k flight cancelled
to kick off 2022
By J.Lo
CHRISTMAS and New Year holidays are typically peak time for air travel, but rapid spread of highly transmissible Omicron variant has led to sharp increase in COVID-19 infections, forcing airlines to cancel flights as pilots and cabin crew quarantine.
Over 4,000 flights were cancelled around the world on Sunday, more than half of them U.S. flights, adding to the toll of holiday week travel disruptions due to adverse weather and surge in coronavirus cases caused by Omicron variant.
The flights cancelled by 8 in the evening on Sunday included over 2,400 entering, departing from or within United States, according to tracking website FlightAware.com. Globally, more than 11,200 flights were delayed.
Among airlines with most cancellations were SkyWest and SouthWest, with 510 and 419 cancellations respectively, FlightAware showed.
Transportation agencies across United States were also suspending or reducing services due to coronavirus-related staff shortages.
Omicron has brought record case counts and dampened New Year festivities around much of the world.
The rise in U.S. COVID cases had caused some companies to change plans to increase number of employees working from their offices from Monday.
U.S. authorities registered at least 346,869 new coronavirus on Saturday. The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 rose by at least 377 to 828,562.
U.S. airline cabin crew, pilots and support staff were reluctant to work overtime during holidays, despite offers of hefty financial incentives. Many feared contracting COVID-19 and did not welcome prospect of dealing with unruly passengers, some airline unions said.
In the months preceding the holidays, airlines were wooing employees to ensure solid staffing, after furloughing or laying off thousands over the last 18 months as pandemic hobbled the industry.
Air travel continued to be severely disrupted in the United States over the weekend, with bad weather in parts of the country adding to the impact of massive spike in COVID-19 infections fueled by Omicron variant.
The United States had 2,604 cancelled flights, more than half of the 4,529 cancelled worldwide, shortly after 4:30 in the afternoon according to tracking website FlightAware.
In addition, 3,447 domestic flights were delayed on Saturday, out of a total of 7,602 worldwide for the day.
The worst affected US airline was Southwest, which had to cancel 13 percent of its flight schedule, according to the site.
In the United States, airports in Chicago were particularly hard-hit because of difficult weather, with a snowstorm expected in the area on Saturday afternoon and into the night.
The global air travel industry is still reeling from the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Many pilots, flight attendants and other staff are absent from work after contracting COVID-19, or because they are quarantining after coming in contact with someone infected.
Some 7,500 flights were cancelled by airlines worldwide over the Christmas weekend.
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