Omicron variant causes Christmas flight cancellations and holiday travel headaches

Travelers are owning a rough Christmas Eve at the airport due in section to the coronavirus omicron variant.

According to Flight Informed, United Airlines has canceled 170 flights scheduled for Friday, about 9{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} of its planned routine, and about 90 that were being slated for Saturday.

FOX Organization has determined 21 occasions where by United Airlines cancellations on Christmas Eve are immediately attributed to the coronavirus, stating that staffing difficulties have caused the cancellation.

For a flight from Denver to Newark scheduled for Friday, for case in point, the following message is demonstrated on the United Airlines web page: “Your flight is canceled due to an increase in Covid instances restricting crew availability. We are sorry for disrupting your holiday programs and for the inconvenience.”

A United Airlines spokesperson confirmed to FOX Business enterprise that the nationwide spike in coronavirus omicron variant instances has disrupted some of their flights.

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Holiday tourists examine in at an American Airlines ticket kiosk at Pittsburgh International Airport in Imperial, Pa., Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021.  (AP Image/Gene J. Puskar / AP Newsroom)

“The nationwide spike in Omicron circumstances this week has experienced a direct effects on our flight crews and the men and women who operate our operation. As a consequence, we’ve however had to terminate some flights and are notifying impacted prospects in progress of them coming to the airport. We’re sorry for the disruption and are performing difficult to rebook as quite a few people today as possible and get them on their way for the holiday seasons,” the spokesperson said.

United Airways is not the only airline experience the impact of the omicron variant, as Delta Air Strains is also blaming the omicron variant for some flight cancellations.

According to Flight Conscious, Delta Air Lines has canceled 131 flights on Friday.

“We apologize to our consumers for the delay in their holiday journey ideas. Delta men and women are doing work really hard to get them to exactly where they need to be as quickly and as securely as probable on the subsequent offered flight,” the spokesperson said. “Flight cancellations are thanks to a mixture of concerns, such as but not constrained to, probable inclement temperature in some parts and the effects of the Omicron variant.”

Vacation tourists verify in at the Southwest Airways counter at Pittsburgh International Airport in Imperial, Pa., Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021.AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) (AP Picture/Gene J. Puskar / AP Newsroom)

FAUCI Suggests MASKS ON PLANES WILL Constantly BE Necessary

Delta Air Strains Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian and other health care officers said in a Dec. 21 letter to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Facilities for Condition Manage and Avoidance, that the isolation guidelines for vaccinated men and women must be revisited.

In its place, Bastian and Delta’s professional medical officers proposed a 5-day isolation period from the time that signs or symptoms start out, stating that the omicron variant may perhaps “exacerbate shortages and develop substantial disruptions.”

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Holiday passengers departing Chicago’s Halfway Intercontinental Airport verify-in and retrieve bag tags as a Southwest Airlines flight arrives Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021.  (AP Photograph/Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Newsroom)

“With the fast distribute of the Omicron variant, the 10-day isolation for people who are thoroughly vaccinated may well significantly impact our workforce and functions. Equivalent to health care, police, fireplace, and community transportation workforces, the Omicron surge may perhaps exacerbate shortages and build major disruptions. More, all airline personnel are necessary to mask at airports and on airplanes,” the letter states.

Airways for America, a trade group symbolizing numerous U.S. airlines, which includes American Airways, Delta Air Lines, and United Airways, also wrote a letter to Dr. Walensky in help of the 5-working day isolation recommendation.

On Dec. 23. the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA wrote a different letter to the Centers for Sickness Handle and Avoidance, stating that they assist the present 10-working day isolation recommendation.