Saturday, September 21

Christmas Day: flight cancellations continue due to staff shortages and Omicron cases


Las cancelaciones han afectado a más del 10% de los vuelos programados.
Cancellations have affected more than 10% of scheduled flights.

Photo: DAVID MCNEW / Getty Images

Rubén Rivera

This Saturday continues the wave of cancellations of almost 1, 000 flights on US airlines in the face of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus that has made crew members sick.

Cancellations have affected more than 10% of scheduled flights by Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and JetBlue. According to the portal FlightAware American Airlines had canceled at least 5 percent of the flights.

The airline has been one of the companies that has been shaken by cancellations massive during the year due to staff shortages so in November he offered up to triple salary to his flight attendants to work on vacation trips.

At noon this Saturday the number of cancellations had already exceeded the total flights canceled on Christmas Eve, a bad sign for travelers and airlines who were expecting a recovery in the winter holiday season .

The weather is also causing problems in various parts of the country where according to Delta, more than could be canceled 300 flights scheduled for Sunday . The FlightAware site reported that several US airlines had already canceled 150 flights for the 26 from December.

Continúan las cancelaciones de vuelos en Navidad por escasez de personal y casos de Ómicron-GettyImages-1237412105.jpeg
This Sunday could be canceled more than 300 flights scheduled according to the FlightAware site. Photo: DAVID MCNEW / AFP via Getty Images.

The wave of cancellations at United States airports occurs in times when the number of travelers this year has exceeded even those who flew in 2019 .

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported that more than 2 million people went through security checks during the week before Christmas Eve.

The increase in the number of infections caused by the Omicron variant of coronavirus is generating increasing shortages of personnel in airlines . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that workers who have tested positive for should be isolated until 10 days to prevent spread.

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