Newsman: More than thousands flights has been cancelled globally due to the Omicron variant’s threats. In US about 600 flights has been canceled so far as Friday. Several airlines said Thursday they were forced to cancel hundreds of Christmas Eve flights as the rapidly spreading omicron variant has impacted employees and crew.
United Airlines said it cut 112 flights from its Friday schedule as the omicron variant spread across the nation and affected its workforce.
“The nationwide spike in omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation,” the airline said in a statement.
The airline said it would rebook as many travelers as possible.
About 600 flights have been canceled within, into or going out of the US on Christmas Eve so far, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.
As of 2:30 p.m. ET, exactly 602 flights were canceled and more than 1,800 were delayed.
Globally, there were nearly 2,300 flight cancellations in total, according to FlightAware.
More than 180 United Airlines flights, 165 Delta flights and 72 JetBlue fights have been canceled, according to FlightAware.
The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 2.19 million people at airports across the country on Thursday, the highest figure since the uptick in holiday travel started a week ago.
