Omicron Forces Flight Cancellations For Christmas Travelers!
Jaclyn Stanton was excited to reunite with her parents for the first time since February 2020, when she last saw them before the Covid-19 pandemic began. But it appears that’s not happening. Get more details since the Omicron Forces Flight Cancellations For Christmas Travelers…
CelebnPolitics247.com reports that on Thursday night, Straton and many families got a text alert from United Airlines informing her their flight had been canceled.
Stanton, 36, said on Friday:
It’s a bit of a bummer…It was a bit of a gut punch last night.
Stanton is one of the thousands of would-be travelers who were hoping to make it home for Christmas this year but were left stranded as airlines around the world canceled thousands of flights amid the spread of the omicron variant.
Global airlines had collectively canceled more than 3,700 flights for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, according to the flight-tracking website Flight Aware. Of those canceled, more than 1,000 had been scheduled within, into, or out of the U.S.
Several major airlines, including United, Delta, and Alaska, said they were forced to cancel hundreds of Christmas Eve flights after the omicron variant infected their employees and crew members.
On Friday, United cut a total of 187 flights; Delta, 166; and Alaska, 11, according to Flight Aware.
United Airlines said in a statement. The company said it would rebook as many travelers as possible:
The nationwide spike in omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation.
Delta apologized, blaming the omicron variant and potentially severe weather in places like Seattle and Salt Lake City for the cancellations.
On Thursday, Alaska Airlines canceled 17 flights, adding that more cancellations were possible Friday “during this dynamic situation,” the airline said in a statement.
An American Airlines spokesperson said no cancellations were planned. Other airlines did not immediately respond to inquiries about Friday’s schedule.
The highly transmissible omicron variant quickly grew to account for nearly three-fourths of Covid cases in the last week after millions of people had already booked their holiday travel plans.
Holiday air travel was expected to nearly triple compared to the same period last year, the American Automobile Association reported on Dec. 14. An estimated 109 million U.S. residents were expected to travel in planes, vehicles and other forms of transportation this month.
Many people took their complaints about the last-minute itinerary change to social media.
Unfortunate that @Delta canceled our 6 am flight 5.5 hours before it left,” one person wrote on Twitter. “Got up at 3:30 am, took a Sudafed (so I won’t be sleeping for 12-18 hours), and got in the car before we checked e-mails/notifications.
He continued:
Maybe flights, before 9am, should be canceled 12+ hours in advance.
Another Twitter user wrote:
All sorts of flights are delayed or canceled as I leave Honolulu. Short-staffed airlines and illnesses are taking their toll.
As a high school chemistry teacher, Stanton said she had patiently waited for winter break to finally visit her family.
But as cases surged across the country, the Chicago resident said she grew increasingly concerned and prepared to take extra precautions like double masking onboard the flight. She was still clinging to the hope she would be reunited with her family after nearly two years apart.
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