Omicron: nearly 8,000 flights canceled over Christmas weekend


Around 7,900 flights were canceled by airlines across the world over Christmas weekend, with the Omicron variant of Covid-19 continuing its meteoric rise during the holidays, including among flight attendants, contaminated or exposed to the virus.

Quarantined pilots and flight attendants

Europe is currently the region with the most cases in the world, with 3,022,868 cases in the last seven days or 57% of the world total, as well as the most deaths, followed by the area comprising the United States and the Canada (1,421,516 cases).

France notably crossed the threshold of 100,000 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours on Saturday, Christmas Day, unheard of, while the government must reassess the situation on Monday. According to the latest report from the Flightaware website, there were nearly 2,000 flight cancellations on Sunday, of which more than 570 were trips linked to the United States, whether international or internal.

On Saturday, the same site had identified nearly 2,800 flight cancellations, 970 of which were trips related to the United States. And Friday, about 2,400 cancellations and 11,000 delays had been identified according to the same source. Pilots, flight attendants and other staff members had to be quarantined after being exposed to Covid, which forced Lufthansa, Delta and United Airlines to cancel flights.

According to Flightaware, United Airlines had to cancel around 439 flights on Friday and Saturday, or about 10% of those that were scheduled.

Omicron case pic

“The peak of Omicron cases across the country this week has had a direct impact on our crews and the people who run our operations,” said the US company, which said it is working to find solutions for passengers affected. Delta Air Lines also canceled more than 300 flights on Saturday, and 170 the day before, again according to Flightaware, citing both Omicron and, occasionally, adverse weather conditions.

“The Delta teams have exhausted all options and resources” before coming to these cancellations, argued the airline. More than ten Alaska Airlines flights, whose employees said they were “potentially exposed to the virus” and had to self-isolate in quarantine, have also been canceled.

Snowfall and rain

The weather conditions contributed to the flight disruptions: in the western United States, snowstorms and sharp drops in temperatures were forecast, further complicating an already chaotic situation. But can also offer a snowy Christmas weekend in the cities of Seattle and Portland.

“Abnormally cold and wet conditions from the Pacific will result in prolonged periods of snowfall and rain,” the US National Weather Service (NWS) said. Chinese airlines were responsible for the most cancellations: China Eastern cut around 540 flights, more than a quarter of its flight plan, while Air China canceled 267 flights, also near quarter of his scheduled departures.

These cancellations disrupt the desire to resume travel this year for the holidays, after a Christmas 2020 hit hard by the pandemic.



Source link -77