The U.S continued to face travel delays early Sunday due to the winter storm moving eastward. Carriers also faced staff shortages caused by the rapid spread of the Coronavirus variant, Omicron, which compounded the problem.
As per Bloomberg News, close to 1900 flights were canceled within the U.S. and out of it on Sunday morning, along with 600 flights delayed according to FlightAware.com, the flight tracking firm. This is in addition to 2700 flights canceled and more than 6500 flights delayed on Saturday.
Record COVID infections hitting the U.S. resulted in staff absence. The cancellation of around 12000 flights since Christmas Eve during busy travel in the holiday season added to the snarl as per reports from the Associated Press. Thousands of travelers are trying to return home after the holidays at this point.
Sunday saw delays and cancellations across the country. The Chicago O’Hare International airport focused on Sunday as it saw 250 cancellations with more in the pipeline. According to FlightAware, Saturday saw 55% of flights canceled from Chicago Midway and 45% scheduled from O’Hare airport were also canceled.
Regional Carrier SkyWest Inc canceled 18% of its scheduled flight totaling 425, and Southwest Airlines Co. scrapped around 264 flights for Sunday.
According to National Weather Service, a powerful storm is expected to sweep across a large part of the country, and travel disruptions continue. The storm moves east, bringing wintry conditions to New England and New York.
Transportation Security Administration personnel have been struggling to deal with unruly passengers. They have requested travelers to be patient. It said that more than 1.6 million people were screened by security across checkpoints on Friday.
