Flight cancellations and delays due to Omicron variant and severe weather caused chaos at US airports Continued.
With more than 1,100 cancellations of flights to, from or within the United States by Wednesday noon, according to the air travel data site FlightAware. By Thursday morning, the site was also showing more than 500 cancellations for Friday.
The air carriers hit hard on Thursday included JetBlue, with 17 per cent of its total flights cancelled. JetBlue said Wednesday that it was reducing its schedule through Jan. 13. In a statement, the airline said it had “seen a surge” in sick calls because of the Omicron variant, hampering its ability to staff its flights suitably even though it started the holidays with more workers than at any point since the pandemic began.
“We expect the number of Covid cases in the Northeast — where most of our crew members are based — to continue to surge for the next week or two,” the company said. “This means there is a high likelihood of additional cancellations until case counts start to come down.”
Alaska Airlines, whose primary hub is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, cancelled 14 per cent of its flights. Relentless snowfall and record low temperatures in the Pacific Northwest grounded planes last week, and it snowed again in Seattle on Thursday.
Looking to relieve its staffing squeeze, the airline industry pushed for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to shorten its recommended isolation period for Americans infected with Covid-19. The agency had previously recommended that infected patients isolate for 10 days after a positive test. But on Monday, it reduced that period to five days for those without symptoms and those without fevers whose other symptoms were resolving.
