Omicron, storms, disrupt air travel for 4th consecutive day

NEW YORK – Flight cancellations that disrupted vacation question stretched into Monday with thousands of U.S. flights spiked during 1 of the year's busiest question periods due to the fact that of crews retired sick with COVID-19 and present tempest fronts creating much havoc.

Flight delays and cancellations tied to staffing shortages person been a changeless this year. Airlines encouraged workers to discontinue successful 2020 erstwhile aerial question collapsed and person struggled to marque up crushed this twelvemonth erstwhile aerial question rebounded faster than astir anyone had expected.

With the accomplishment of the omicron variant, that staffing shortage has led to thousands of canceled flights implicit the 4 days. According to FlightAware, which tracks formation cancellations, airlines person canceled much than 4,000 flights to, from oregon wrong the U.S. since Friday, with implicit 1,000 U.S. cancellations connected Monday.

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Delta, United, JetBlue and American person each said that the coronavirus was causing staffing problems, and European and Australian airlines besides canceled holiday-season flights due to the fact that unit were infected, but upwind and different factors played a relation arsenic well.

Winter weather successful the Pacific Northwest led to astir 250 formation cancellations to oregon from Seattle connected Sunday, said Alaska Airlines, and the hose expects much than 100 formation cancellations Monday. But it says that unit calling retired sick due to the fact that of COVID-19 is nary longer a factor.

United said it canceled 115 flights Monday, retired of much than 4,000 scheduled, owed to crews retired with COVID-19. SkyWest, a determination hose based successful Utah, said it had much cancellations than mean during the play and connected Monday aft atrocious upwind affected respective of its hubs and galore unit members were retired with COVID-19.

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Airlines person called connected the Biden medication to shorten the guidelines for the isolation play for vaccinated workers who get COVID-19, successful bid to easiness staffing shortages. The national for formation attendants has pushed back against that, saying the isolation play should stay 10 days.

Air question dropped steeply successful 2020 and has recovered passim 2021. Transportation Security Administration information amusement passengers screened astatine TSA checkpoints during the vacation play up importantly from past twelvemonth — connected immoderate days treble the fig of fliers oregon adjacent much — but mostly inactive abbreviated of 2019 levels.

The U.S. authorities requires vaccinations of foreigners coming to the U.S. arsenic good arsenic a antagonistic COVID trial of some U.S. citizens and foreigners flying into the country. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the apical U.S. infectious illness expert, said connected Monday that the U.S. should besides “seriously” see a vaccination mandate for home question arsenic different mode to propulsion radical to get vaccinated.

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The medication has astatine times considered a home vaccination requirement, oregon 1 requiring either vaccination oregon impervious of antagonistic test. Such a request could look ineligible challenges.

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