Hundreds of flights were cancelled on Wednesday as the omicron variant wreaks havoc both on passengers and on airlines, which are struggling to put together flight crews as pilots, flight attendants, and ground staffs become ill or are exposed to others who have been.
According to data from the flight-tracking website FlightAware, more than 850 flights had been cancelled by midday Wednesday, and the figure continued to rise throughout the day. On Tuesday, about 1,300 flights entering, leaving, or within the United States were cancelled. Cancellations began to rise the day before Christmas during what is already a buzzing pace for airlines this time of year.
United, Delta and JetBlue have all said that the flights were cancelled due to staffing issues caused by the omicron variant. SkyWest had the most cancellations (195), followed by United (158), and Delta (103). SkyWest, a regional airline based in Utah, has seen a spike in cancellations after severe weather hit several of its hubs, along with staffing issues. Over the weekend, the Pacific Northwest was slammed with bitter cold and heavy snow.
According to FlightAware, Seattle-Tacoma had the highest percentage of incoming and outgoing flights cancelled among U.S. airports on Wednesday.
According to TSA checkpoint data, the number of individuals travelling this holiday season is considerably more than last year, when COVID-19 vaccinations were available, but still falls short of 2019.
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