Around 8,000 flights were cancelled globally between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day as airlines experienced staff shortages due to COVID-19.
Approximately 3,000 of the cancelled flights were in or out of the United States, where the highly transmissible Omicron COVID variant is causing a surge in infections, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com
The website’s tally showed 14,269 flights were delayed on Boxing Day, 3,099 were called off and of those, 1,369 were in the US.
As of 2.30am on Monday, 1,176 flights had already been cancelled around the world, with 268 of them being to or from the States. A total of 678 had been delayed.
The Christmas period is typically a peak time for travel but this year it has coincided with the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, which has caused many airlines to cancel flights while pilots and cabin crew self-isolate.
A Delta spokesperson said on Sunday: “Winter weather in portions of the US and the Omicron variant continued to impact Delta’s holiday weekend flight schedule.”
They added the airline was working to “reroute and substitute aircraft and crews to get customers where they need to be as quickly and safely as possible”.
Infections have risen sharply in many parts of the US, with New York state’s health department warning it had recorded a “startling” four-fold increase in COVID-19 hospital admissions for children under 18 since the week beginning 5 December.
Several cruises have also been affected by COVID-19, according to multiple media reports.
