United, Delta cancel hundreds of U.S. Christmas Eve flights as COVID-19 cases spike
Holiday travel plans of thousands of people have come to a halt as hundreds of flights have been canceled worldwide as the new COVID-19 variant Omicron is surging.
More than 2,263 flights have been canceled worldwide and more than 500 in the U.S. as of Friday afternoon, according to flight tracker FlightAware.
A number of airlines, including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Alaska Airlines, have said they were forced to cancel hundreds of Christmas Eve flights due to the omicron variant.
The airlines apologized for the disruption, blaming the omicron variant. “Delta teams have exhausted all options and resources — including rerouting and substitutions of aircraft and crews to cover scheduled flying — before canceling,” the airline said in a statement Thursday.
United Airlines has canceled 169 flights for Christmas Eve as of Friday. “The nationwide spike in omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation,” United said in a statement. “As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel some flights and are notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport.” United Airlines said it would rebook as many people as possible and get them on their way for the holidays.
Airlines for America (A4A), the group that lobbies on behalf of all major U.S. airlines, is calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to shorten the quarantine time for fully vaccinated individuals, saying the Omicron surge may create “significant” disruptions.
German air carrier Lufthansa said that it was canceling a dozen long-haul transatlantic flights over the Christmas holiday. Lufthansa plans to cut 33,000 flights from its winter schedule due to the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant and related travel restrictions.
