US airlines cut hundreds of flights on Christmas Eve, but Americans continue By Reuters

By Arriana McLymore and Maria Caspani

NEW YORK (Reuters) – US airlines canceled hundreds of flights on Christmas Eve as a result of a rise in COVID-19 infections caused by the Omicron variant, but millions of Americans continued their travel plans during a second pandemic-cloudy winter break.

United Airlines and Delta Air Lines (NYSE 🙂 canceled dozens of Christmas Eve flights due to staff shortages due to rising infections.

United Airlines canceled 177 flights and Delta canceled 150 flights, according to FlightAware website at 11:56 Eastern Time (1656 GMT). More than 2,100 flights were canceled worldwide, and 527 were canceled in the United States, either inside or outside, according to the website.

The cancellations overturned some plans, but many Americans went ahead with their vacation trips.

Moses Jimenez, a Long Beach, Mississippi accountant, went to New York with his wife and three children, although recent coronavirus cases frustrated hopes of seeing a performance of “Hamilton” or visiting some museums.

“Hamilton” was one of eleven sessions on Broadway that was forced to cancel performances this week, with actors and band members testing positive for COVID-19. Museums have been wiped out of the family’s trajectory, as many now have to prove their vaccine and two small children are unable to shoot.

Instead, Jimenez, 33, said he would take advantage of his kids walking the streets and parks of the city and seeing family and friends. On Christmas Day, they plan to enjoy a home-cooked meal, in the family tradition, at the Airbnb Inn.

“We really wanted to get the kids out of town for Christmas,” Jimenez told Reuters Thursday at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

COVID-19 infection has risen as a result of the rapidly spreading Omicron variant in the United States, which was first detected in November and now covers nearly three-quarters and 90% of U.S. cases in areas such as the East Coast.

The average number of new COVID-19 infections rose 37% to 165,000 a day last week, according to a Reuters count.

As Omicron rolled out, the Biden administration announced last month that it would remove the travel restrictions imposed on eight countries in southern Africa after the variant was detected there. White House spokesman Kevin Munoz tweeted that the restrictions had taken America time to “understand Omicron” and “find out if existing vaccines work.”

INFECTIONS AND TRAVEL UP

The daily total number of deaths and hospitalizations, which are considered a delayed indicator, has changed little across the nation over the past seven days, but has risen by 55% and 28%, respectively, over December.

The cancellation of Friday’s flight led to a rise in Omicron cases, which “had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation,” United said in a statement.

The Transportation Safety Board surveyed 2,187,792 passengers at U.S. airports on Thursday, about 364,000 fewer than the number of passengers it saw before the pandemic on the same date in 2019.

While Americans tested COVID-19 and measured various public health guidelines – U.S. officials said people who are fully vaccinated should feel comfortable with their vacation trip – many decided to enjoy some form of celebration and tradition.

The New York Catholic Archdiocese of New York has personally organized Christmas services in the churches and parishes of Rome, which has more than 2.5 million fans in 10 counties and will continue to be in place to wear masks and social exclusion measures, spokesman Joseph Zwilling said.

Omicron’s rapid expansion will slow down New York’s iconic New Year’s Eve celebration for the second year in a row. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the drop in the midnight ball in Times Square will be a limit of 15,000 people, roughly a quarter of the usual pre-pandemic crowd.

Many New York vacationers planned to limit themselves to much smaller gatherings.

Madeleine Kennedy, a ski instructor from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, flew to New York on Thursday, armed with a COVID-19 test kit, before a smaller Christmas affair with her Queens family.

“The second time, I think the world is less impressed and I think we’ll be able to advance this,” Kennedy said.