A number of passengers were affected as hundreds of flights have been canceled between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day due to the soaring Omicron cases in the US.
The airline companies said Omicron has affected their staffing which resulted in the cancellation of flights.
Based on the flight-tracking website FlightAware, United Airlines canceled 168 flights Friday and another 47 on Saturday.
“The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation,” a United Airlines spokesperson said.
To avoid too much disturbance, the company said they are reaching out to customers affected by the cancellations before they head to the airport.
Aside from United Airlines, Delta Air Lines is also facing cancellations on the same two days.
As of about 8:30 p.m., the airline has scrapped 115 flights on Christmas Eve — accounting for five percent of the day’s total trips.
On Christmas Day, it was learned that Delta also canceled 52 flights — or two percent of the trips that day.
“Delta teams have exhausted all options and resources — including rerouting and substitutions of aircraft and crews to cover scheduled flying — before canceling around 90 flights for Friday,” a Delta spokesperson said.
“We apologize to our customers for the delay in their holiday travel plans. Delta people are working hard to get them to where they need to be as quickly and as safely as possible on the next available flight,” the spokesperson added.
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