The main airlines of the U.S canceled hundreds of flights this Sunday (26), the third consecutive day of mass cancellations and delays over the Christmas weekend, as airline employees are laid off for being sick amid rising cases of Ômicron variant.
Nearly 700 flights were canceled and another 1,300 delayed on Sunday, according to FlightAware. Globally, there were over 2,000 cancellations. Delta and JetBlue each recorded more than 100 cancellations on Sunday.
Globally, airlines canceled more than 6,000 flights on the eve of Natal (24), at Christmas and the day after, according to FlightAware. This includes approximately 1,700 flights within, to or outside the United States.
Airline operational hurdles are occurring while millions are still flying, despite rising cases of Covid-19.
The TSA says it tracked 2.19 million passengers at airports across the country on Thursday, the largest number since the spike in holiday travel that began a week ago.
More than a thousand flights in the US canceled
On Thursday, United Airlines said it needed to “cancel some flights” because of the Ômicron variant. “The nationwide increase in Ômicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operations,” said a United memo obtained by CNN.
The company canceled 201 flights on Friday, representing 10% of its total schedule, and 238 flights on Saturday, representing 12% of its schedule, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
United said it is “notifying affected customers in advance of their trip to the airport,” according to a company statement. “We regret the interruption and are working hard to reschedule as many people as possible and get them on their way to vacation.”
Later on Thursday night, Delta Air Lines also canceled flights. The airline suspended 173 flights on Christmas Eve, according to FlightAware.
Delta said the cancellations were due to several issues, including the Ômicron variant.
“We apologize to our customers for the delay in their vacation travel plans,” Delta said in a statement. “Delta people are working hard to get them where they need to be as quickly and safely as possible on the next available flight.”
In addition, JetBlue canceled 80 flights, or about 7% of its overall schedule, on Christmas Eve.
Alaska Airlines said in a statement that it had canceled 17 flights because of Ômicron on Thursday and more cancellations would be possible on Christmas Eve. The airline canceled 11 flights on Friday.
Thousands of international flights also canceled China Eastern suspended 474 flights, or 22% of its operation, according to FlightAware.
Likewise, Air China canceled around 190 flights, or 15% of its schedule. Air India, Shenzhen Airlines, Lion Air and Wings Air also canceled dozens of flights.
This content was originally created in English.
original version
Reference: CNN Brasil
I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.
