U.S. airlines cancel nearly 1,000 Christmas flights as a result of Omicron By Reuters

By Humeyra Pamuk and Joel Schectman

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. airlines canceled nearly 1,000 flights on Saturday as the second day in a row to cancel the COVID-19 infection has sidelined some pilots and other crews as they overturned plans for thousands of holidaymakers over the Christmas weekend.

A total of 957 Christmas Day flights were canceled, including domestic and domestic or foreign flights, with more than 690 Christmas Eve flights, according to the FlightAware.com flight tracking website. Nearly 2,000 flights were delayed.

At least one airline said it expects hundreds more cancellations on Sunday.

The Christmas holidays are usually the peak time for air travel, but the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has led to an increase in COVID-19 infections, forcing airlines to cancel flights because pilots and crew have to be quarantined.

United Airlines canceled 230 flights and American Airlines (NASDAQ 🙂 canceled 90 flights, company representatives said in separate statements.

“This week’s nationwide rise in Omicron cases has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who lead our operation,” said Maddie King United spokeswoman. He said the cancellation made up a small fraction of United’s average daily flight of 4,000 during the holiday season.

“We’re working hard to book as many people as possible and get them on their way to the holidays,” he said.

Winter weather and Omicron forced Delta Air Lines (NYSE 🙂 to cancel 344 flights on Saturday, out of an estimated 3,000 scheduled flights, “after exhausting all opportunities and resources to prevent such cancellations,” a company spokesman said, adding that it had an impact. it is likely to last on Sunday.

“Delta expects more than 300 of its flights to be canceled on Sunday, December 26,” a spokesman said. “People at Delta are working together to redirect and replace aircraft and crews around the clock to get customers to where they need them as quickly and safely as possible.”

Worldwide, FlightAware data showed that just over 2,700 flights were canceled on Saturday and another 7,049 were delayed from 5:30 pm EST (2230 GMT).

Airports in the US included Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta, Newark Liberty International in New Jersey, Los Angeles International and JFK International in New York. Six of the 10 airports in the world most affected by the cancellations were Chinese.

Not all airlines had the same effect. A spokesman for Southwest Airlines (NYSE) said there were no problems with the carrier’s flights on Saturday.

The Omicron variant was first detected in November and now accounts for nearly three-quarters and 90% of U.S. cases in some areas, such as the East Coast.

The average number of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose 45% to 179,000 a day last week, according to a Reuters count.

Although recent research suggests that Omicron produces milder illnesses and lower hospitalization rates than previous variants of COVID-19, health care providers have maintained a cautious note about their predictions.

Before the Christmas holidays, Americans conducted COVID-19 tests and many advanced their travel plans.

U.S. officials say people who are fully vaccinated should feel comfortable with their vacation trip.