According to the air traffic site FlightAware, about 4,400 flights were canceled around the world on Saturday, with more than 2,500 of them in the United States.
After contracting Covid, airlines have been having personnel issues with crew quarantining.
Heavy snow has blanketed the central United States, adding to travelers’ troubles.
More than 1,000 cancellations were reported from Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports.
“Omicron personnel and weather-related concerns are to blame for today’s cancellations. In the event of bad weather, we cancelled flights ahead of time. If a flight is canceled, we contact passengers as soon as possible to allow them time to rebook or make other arrangements “In a statement, United Airlines said.
according to Punch News some some passengers expressed their grievances over cancelled flights.
A Southwest traveler, Haley, who was attempting to fly out of Chicago, wrote, “This is insane.” “This is the third cancellation, and I’m still missing.” 4 days ago I was scheduled to be home!!!”
The airports in Chicago, a key transit hub, were the hardest struck on Saturday, but Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, Houston, and Newark were also heavily hit by Sunday.
“I was expected to be home at 10:30 yesterday morning,” Kayla said of her own ordeal. I’ve had three flights cancelled and one delayed to the point that I’ve missed my connection.”
With further snow and strong winds expected on Sunday, when many people come home from their Christmas vacations, the situation is certain to worsen.
“It’s too lengthy and there’s no area to spend the time, buy some food, it’s a long time here,” one tourist detained at O’Hare airport in Chicago told ABC news.
Due to airline staffing concerns linked to the spread of the highly dangerous Omicron coronavirus strain, flight traffic has been snarled around the world since Christmas.
After testing positive for the virus or being forced to quarantine due to contact with someone who has the illness, many pilots and flight attendants have phoned in sick.
The Omicron variant is causing an increase in Covid cases in the United States.
Despite high vaccination rates, New York City has recorded a record number of cases. The virus has infected everyone from cops to Broadway plays, though there hasn’t been a substantial increase in hospitalizations yet.
