FedEx warns of delays in shipments due to Omicron

The global shipping giant FedEx Corp. warned on Friday that the growing number of new coronavirus cases due to the Omicron superconducting variant has already begun to cause staff shortages and delays air freight.

“The explosive wave of the Omicron variant has caused a temporary shortage of available crews and operational personnel,” the company said in a statement.

The transportation giant added that severe winter storms in the US, including Memphis in Tennessee, where its main airline is located, create additional challenges, but noted that it implements emergency plans and adjusts its activities to minimize problems.

The severe winter and rapid spread of Omicron have led to a sharp rise in infections in the US, forcing several domestic airlines to cancel their flights as the number of pilots and quarantined crews increases, according to Reuters.

Inadequate staffing, along with a number of other issues, forced Thursday and the U.S. Postal Service, one of the largest U.S. military employers, to seek temporary exemption from its vaccination and diagnostics rules for its 650,000 employees. adopted by the Biden government for large enterprises.