According to Bloomberg News, airline cancellations have already started surging in the United States. As many as 1000 flights have been canceled just before the eve of New Year, the surging number of coronavirus cases being the prime reason for the same. Heavy brewing of snow in the West is also one of the reasons.
JetBlue Airways Corp canceled 175 flights which constitute 17% of its scheduled flights, by 9:39 am Thursday in New York, as per FlightAware.com. Allegiant has canceled 89 flights, including 18% of its scheduled services. And United Airlines Holdings Inc. scrapped 190 flights, comprising 8% of its scheduled flight services, reports Bloomberg News.
The disruption was reported as thousands of flights started to get canceled since the Christmas holidays over the weekend and spilling into the current week. The most probable reasons for these cancellations are winter storms, a surge in Covid-19 infections due to new conditions from the omicron variant, and a shortage of staff.
According to JetBlue, which said in a statement that similar to many organizations and business entities, they too have received sick calls due to the new variant omicron-driven infections. So that the customers can get adequate time to make alternative plans, JetBlue, a New York-based airline carrier, trimmed its schedule right through January 13th.
In a statement, JetBlue also revealed that it has the majority of the crew members residing in the Northeast, where the coronavirus cases are expected to surge in the coming week. However, the guidance from health officials that have reduced the number of days in isolation from 10 days to 5 days should help with staff shortage.
Bloomberg News reports that Allegiant Travel Co. cited issues like severe weather conditions, impact on staff, security, and issues related to air traffic control as the reasons for cancellations and delays. However, United did not respond immediately when asked to comment.
The Transportation Security Administration said it screened as many as 2.02 million people around the US, Wednesday.
Aside from JetBlue, which is based in the New York City area, the most brutal hit for delays and cancellations includes Atlanta, Thursday, as per FlightAware. The Southeast anticipated heavy rains, and there were warnings for flash floods issues in the Atlanta area. In the West, Thursday, heavy snow is expected, which National Weather Service revealed.
There is no relief for the New Year’s holidays, and more than 500 flights have already been canceled for Friday, followed by 78 for the next day. The weather service has also stated that a mix of ice and snow is anticipated to give rise to hazardous travel conditions during the New Year in areas ranging between the Rockies and Midwest, and Great Lakes.
