International Flights Latest News: As per the data of flight tracker FlightAware, about 3,000 and 1,100 flights were canceled alone on Monday and Tuesday respectively.
New Delhi: With airlines ‘facing shortages of staff’ owing to a spike in the cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus and bad weather, nearly 12,000 flights— 11,500 to be specific, were reportedly cancelled worldwide since Friday, and tens of thousands were delayed at the busiest time of year of air travel. As per the data of flight tracker FlightAware, about 3,000 and 1,100 flights were canceled alone on Monday and Tuesday respectively.
The cancellations on Monday included 264 by SkyWest, 141 by Alaska Airlines, 93 by United, and 84 by American. If reports are to be believed, more than 6,000 flights were canceled on Christmas eve, Christmas, and the day after Christmas.
With more than 260 flights, SkyWest had the highest number of cancellations among US carriers. The airline has cited both weather conditions at hubs and “increased Covid cases and quarantines among crew members” for the cancellations while apologising for the inconvenience and working to resume normal operations as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines issued a statement and said that they are working to get all affected guests re-booked on other flights while operating safely. Delta, on the other hand, issued an apology and stated that its staff is working hard to get them (flyers) to where they need to be as quickly and as safely as possible on the next available flight.
“We’ve got to make sure employees don’t feel pressured to come to work when they’ve been exposed to Covid-19 or they think they may have the symptoms,” said Captain Dennis Tajer, a spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association.
Meanwhile, the US CDC has shortened the isolation period from 10 to 5 days for people infected with COVID-19. “Given what we currently know about Covid-19 and the Omicron variant, CDC is shortening the recommended time for isolation from 10 days for people with Covid-19 to 5 days, if asymptomatic, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others,” said the agency in a statement on Monday.
