NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Delta, United and other airlines have canceled hundreds of flights scheduled for Christmas Eve across the country amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The airlines on Friday said they were dealing with staffing shortages tied to the highly contagious omicron COVID-19 variant. United Airlines had canceled 173 flights by 10 a.m., while Delta had called off 143, according to FlightAware.
In a statement, United said crews are already working to rebook as many passengers as possible.
“The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation,” the airline said. “As a result, we've unfortunately had to cancel some flights and are notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport.”
Meanwhile, Delta released a statement saying the cancelations are a last resort.
“Delta teams have exhausted all options and resources – including rerouting and substitutions of aircraft and crews to cover scheduled flying,” a 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.”
JetBlue, American Airlines and Alaskan Airlines were also seeing some cancellations, but not nearly as many at Delta and United, according to FlightAware.
The cancellations come as COVID-19 cases continue to squeeze staffing at hospitals, police departments, supermarkets and other critical operations struggling to maintain full operations.
To ease some of the staffing concerns, countries – including Spain and the U.K. – have move to reduce the length of COVID-19 quarantines after testing positive for the virus or being exposed.
The United States has yet to take such a measure, but Dr. Anthony Fauci told WCBS 880 this week that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are discussing the possibility of shorter isolation times.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian was among those who have called on the Biden administration to make the move sooner, rather than later, in order to prevent further disruptions to air travel, according to The Associated Press.
According to data from AAA, air travel is surging 184% this year in comparison to 2020 and over 100 million Americans are set to hit the rails, roads or skies this holiday weekend.
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