At The Beginning Of The Year, More Than 4,000 Flights Were Canceled Because Of Omicron Variant

JAKARTA - More than 4,000 flights were canceled worldwide on Sunday, more than half of which were US flights, adding to the number of holiday week travel disruptions due to bad weather and a spike in coronavirus cases caused by the Omicron variant, the coronavirus.

Flights canceled as of 8 p.m. GMT on Sunday included more than 2,400 arrivals and departures from or within the United States (US), according to tracking website FlightAware.com. Globally, more than 11,200 flights were delayed.

Among the airlines with the most flight cancellations were SkyWest and SouthWest, with 510 and 419 cancellations, respectively, FlightAware pointed out, citing Reuters January 3.

The Christmas and New Year's holidays are usually peak times for air travel, but the rapid spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant has led to a sharp increase in COVID-19 infections, forcing airlines to cancel flights as pilots and cabin crew are quarantined.

In addition, US airline cabin crew, pilots, and support staff are reluctant to work overtime during the holidays, despite the offer of large financial incentives. Many fear catching COVID-19 and do not welcome the prospect of dealing with unruly passengers, several airline unions say.

Not only airlines, transportation agencies across the United States are also suspending or reducing services due to staff shortages related to the corona virus.

The Omicron variant has brought record numbers of cases and reduced New Year's celebrations across much of the world.

The rise in COVID-19 cases in the US has caused several companies to change plans to increase the number of employees working from the office starting this Monday.

To note, US authorities registered at least 346,869 new coronaviruses as of Saturday, according to a Reuters tally. The US death toll from COVID-19 rose by at least 377 to 828,562.

In the months leading up to the holiday, airlines wooed employees to ensure a solid staff, having laid off or laid off thousands of them over the past 18 months as the pandemic hobbled the industry.