Over 11,500 flights cancelled worldwide since December 24 as Omicron cases surge

As omicron cases continued to shoot up in Europe and US the travel industry saw thousands of flights getting cancelledApart from stringent travel restrictions numerous storms in the US and Covidstricken airline crew too compounded the issue Around 11500 flights have been cancelled around the world since Friday according to an AFP report Flight cancellations that disrupted holiday travel stretched into Monday as airlines called off more than 1000 US flights because crews were sick with Covid19 during one of the yearrsquos busiest travel periods and storm fronts added to the havocFlight delays and cancellations tied to staffing shortages have been common this year Airlines encouraged workers to quit in 2020 when air travel collapsed and carriers have struggled to make up ground this year when air travel rebounded faster than almost anyone had expected The arrival of the omicron variant only exacerbated the problemldquoDuring the pandemic we have seen experienced airline personnel leave the industry and not return across the globerdquo said John Grant senior analyst at travel industry research firm OAG ldquoFilling those skill gaps was already a challenge in the recovery before the latest variantrdquoBut airlinesrsquo staffing levels are ldquoirrelevantrdquo when omicron is thrown into the mix said Atmosphere Research Group travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt ldquoWe canrsquot blame the issues wersquore seeing now on airlines not having enough employees to work What wersquore seeing happen is the employees who were available to work have come down with CovidrdquoSince Friday airlines have cancelled more than 4000 flights to from or inside the US according to FlightAware which tracks flight cancellations Delta United JetBlue and American have blamed the coronavirus for staffing problems in the past several daysEuropean and Australian airlines also cancelled holidayseason flights because of infected staff but weather and other factors played a role as well Winter weather in the Pacific Northwest led to nearly 250 flight cancellations to or from Seattle on Sunday according to Alaska Airlines which expected more than 100 flight cancellations Monday But the airline said sick crews were no longer a factorUnited said it canceled 115 flights Monday out of more than 4000 scheduled due to crews with Covid19 Delta expected to cancel more than 200 flights out of its schedule of over 4100 after scrapping more than 370 on Sunday citing the effect of Covid19 on crews and winter weather in Minneapolis Seattle and Salt Lake CitySkyWest a regional airline based in Utah said it had more cancellations than normal during the weekend and on Monday after bad weather affected several of its hubs and many crew members were out with Covid19Industry analysts said new guidance from US health officials could help airlines better navigate the impact of omicron on staffing levels The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday cut in half the recommended length of time a person should isolate after getting Covid19 to five daysAirlines had called on the Biden administration to shorten the quarantine period to alleviate staffing issues caused by omicron although the union for flight attendants pushed back saying the isolation period should remain 10 daysldquoI definitely think that should helprdquo Raymond James analyst Savanthi Syth said of the CDCrsquos new guidance mdash especially if bad weather subsidesRepresentatives for the flight attendants union the airlines and the industryrsquos trade group did not immediately respond or declined to comment on the CDC changeCancellations have snarled holidays that were already complicated this year with the rise of the omicron variant and escalating Covid19 cases which caused some to change their plans at the last minuteBut many other people kept their plans Transportation Security Administration data shows that the number of passengers screened at TSA checkpoints so far during the holiday season went up significantly from last year mdash on some days double the number of fliers or even more But the number is generally still short of 2019 levelsThe TSA has predicted that the Monday after New Yearrsquos will be one of the busiest days of the holiday season The CDCrsquos new guidelines could help airlines better navigate the New Yearrsquos weekend rush as staffers who got infected are able to come back to work Harteveldt saidThe US government has issued new rules relating to Covid19 and travel in recent months requiring foreigners coming to the US to be vaccinated It also now requires a negative Covid19 test for both US citizens and foreigners within a day of flying into the countryAlso Read Indianorigin senior citizen in Singapore jailed for causing annoyance while drunkDr Anthony Fauci the top US infectious disease expert said Monday that the nation should also seriously consider a vaccination mandate for domestic travel as another way to push people to get vaccinated The administration has at times considered a domestic vaccination requirement or one requiring either vaccination or proof of negative test Such a requirement could face legal challengesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever