Thousands of flights canceled due to low COVID-driven staff | New transport

Delta, Lufthansa, United are canceling flights on Christmas Eve and beyond because Omicron cases are forcing employees to take sick leave.

At least three major airlines have reported dozens of flights canceled due to coronary artery disease-related illness Omicron has a significant impact on the number of aircraft crews during the holiday travel season.

At least 5,000 cancellations are expected between December 23 and 25, according to Flight Aware, a website that tracks flight data.

Lufthansa Germany’s Lufthansa said on Friday it had canceled a dozen long-haul transatlantic flights over the Christmas holidays because of a “huge rise” in sickness among pilots. Cancellations on flights to Houston, Boston, and Washington are a “big buffer” for additional temporary staff.

The airline says it could not speculate whether they were responsible for COVID-19 infections or quarantine because the type of disease was not known. Passengers were booked on other flights.

Lufthansa said in a statement: “… we planned a very large buffer for the holiday. But that wasn’t enough because of the high rate of people calling it sick.”

There are about 50 million people worldwide travel is planned on international flights during the end-of-year holiday, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

In the United States, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines said dozens had to be canceled Christmas Eve flights Due to staff shortages associated with Omicron.

“The rise in omicron cases nationwide this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation,” United said in a statement to several news outlets. “As a result, we have unfortunately had to cancel some flights and inform the affected customers before they arrive at the airport.”

The airline said it was working to cancel more than 100 flights and book as many people as possible.

Delta said it canceled about 90 flights on Friday due to bad weather and that Omicron was affected by “exhausting all options and resources, including redirecting and replacing aircraft and crews, to cover the scheduled flight.”

In a statement to several outlets, he said the passenger was trying to get to their destination quickly.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said 2.1 million people were traveling from U.S. airports on Dec. 23.

International travelers should already be sailing a test host and vaccination requirements for boarding a flight.

The denial is driven by new variants of coronavirus cases as hospital staff, police departments, supermarkets and frontline staff struggling to keep the entire contingent of staff line up as staffing is tightened further.

Spain, including the United Kingdom, has reduced the duration of the COVID-19 quarantine to alleviate staff shortages by allowing people to return to work after being positive or exposed to the virus.

Delta Bastard CEO Ed Bastian was among those who called on the Biden administration to take similar steps or risk further disruption to air travel.