One more consequence of the Omicron variant. During the Christmas weekend, more than 4,500 flights were canceled by the airlines while thousands more were delayed around the world over the Christmas weekend, in the face of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 which comes to disrupt travel during the holidays. According to the Flightaware site, there were, on Saturday December 25 in the early morning, at least 2,000 flight cancellations, of which 700 are trips linked to the United States, whether international or internal, and more than 1,500 delays.
Added to this, about 2,400 cancellations and nearly 11,000 delays were recorded Friday according to the same source, which already has more than 600 cancellations scheduled for Sunday. Pilots, flight attendants and other staff members had to be quarantined after being exposed to Covid-19, which forced Lufthansa, Delta and United Airlines to cancel flights.
According to Flightaware, United Airlines had to cancel around 200 flights on Friday and Saturday, or 10% of those that were scheduled. “The peak of Omicron cases across the country this week has had a direct impact on our crews and the people who run our operations.”, explained the American company, which assured to strive to find solutions for the affected passengers.
Delta Air Lines also canceled 260 flights on Saturday, and 170 the day before, again according to Flightaware, citing both Omicron and, occasionally, adverse weather conditions. “The Delta teams have exhausted all options and resources” before coming to these cancellations, argues the airline. More than ten Alaska Airlines flights, which employees said “have been potentially exposed to the virus” and had to self-isolate in quarantine, were also canceled.
Chinese airlines are behind the most cancellations: China Eastern has cut around 480 flights, or more than 20% of its flight plan, while Air China has canceled 15% of its scheduled departures.