The US airways industry is in the doldrums as the surging coronavirus results in the disruption of flight schedules during the holiday season. According to Flightware, more than 1,100 flights were canceled on Monday alone, all over the United States.
Flight cancelations touched a new high, amid rising omicron variant
Responding to the Fox Business inquiry, Skywest Airlines indicated coronavirus is impacting its crews, noting it is not possible to predict when the issue will be resolved.
Likewise, the airline asserted whether it is about the extreme weather conditions or the rising virus cases, the cancellation of flights is worrisome. Also, the company is apologetic to its consumers.
Skywest claimed the company is trying to ease the strain as soon as possible.
The new CDC guidance was announced as the highly transmissible Omicron variant is sending daily caseloads higher, worsening a labor shortage and forcing airlines to cancel thousands of flights. https://t.co/NEDsa0eOpb pic.twitter.com/ww2skGhZdu
— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 27, 2021
While SkyWest was the hardest hit airline, Alaska Airlines had 141 cancellations, United had 92, Delta had 81, and American Airlines had 86 flights canceled.
On Monday morning, Delta noted in an email the airline might see 40 flights get canceled all throughout the day.
The company failed to materialize its promises, as almost 81 of its flights got canceled by 2:00 pm; however, it managed to bring its numbers down from Christmas when the company canceled 375 flights on Saturday alone.
United Airlines did not reply to Fox Business’ inquiry; however, it noted Saturday the omicron variant was the prominent reason behind the series of cancelations.
The airline said its flight crew and administrative staff were impacted by the new strain, which forced them to cancel their operations.
However, the airline claimed it facilitated customers by notifying them in advance before they came to airports, claiming they are trying to incorporate those people in other flights to travel for their holidays.
COVID is disturbing flight schedules all over the world
Alaska Airlines stated most of its flights are being canceled, due to the extreme weather conditions in the Pacific Northwest.
Promising to rebook all people, Alaska Airlines claimed it is trying to operate safely, as the reservation time can be as long as 11 hours for canceled flights.
Experts believe amid the rising graph of the omicron variant, it seems impossible flight operations would come back to normalcy any time soon.
Coronavirus is increasing rapidly in America, as more than 198,000 daily cases are being reported on average, with many of them related to the newly found strain of omicron.
United, Delta and Alaska Airlines cancel hundreds of Christmas Eve flights as the rapidly spreading omicron variant affects employees and crew. https://t.co/0r6DqemMhf
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 24, 2021
However, flight cancelations are not happening in the United States alone. On Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day, more than 6,000 flights were canceled all over the world.
This duration is mostly considered as the busiest time of the year regarding air travel. Due to the increasing virus cases, the US Transportation Security Administration is currently screening millions of individuals daily, a number which touched 2.19 million last Thursday.
All over Europe, different airlines are experiencing flight cancelations, which is impacting the holiday plans of people across the continent.
