The new variant Flights Are Canceled as Omicron Spreads is spreading rapidly, causing the cancellation of over 1000 flights in the United States. Besides, thousand more were canceled globally as the new variant has started spreading its tentacles in the world. Flights Are Canceled Aware, which provides reliable aviation data, released this data the last Sunday. On Sunday evening, more than 1,300 flights with at least one stop in the United States and two times around the globe are canceled due to the fret of COVID spread.
Covid News: Thousands of FlightsFlights Are Canceled as Omicron Spreads
It is definitely a concerns data, but the noticeable thing is that it is the busiest travel time on the calendar. This striking track record followed the cancellation of theFlights Are Canceled as Omicron Spreads on Christmas Day, disrupting the travel plans of many wishing to spend Christmas eve with their families.
In the United States, the tradition seemed to spring back this year. Hardly two million people passed through security checkpoints each day last weak, according to the data shared by Transportation Security Administration. This number was double on Christmas Day and Christmas Eve last year.
Flights Are Canceled Omicron At A Glance
WHO recognized the variety B.1.1.529 as a variant of concern, named Omicron, on November 26, 2021, at the suggestion of WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE). This conclusion was derived from the data submitted to the TAG-VE that Omicron covid vaccine tests contain a number of alterations that could affect how it acts, such as how severe or contagious the virus is. Researchers are trying to gather more information on other important aspects of the virus including, Severity, Transmissibility, and various others.
Affected Flights With The New Variant
Its been hardly a month since the WHO designated this new variant of the Covid virus officially, and it has started showing its detrimental effects on the aviation industry. By lunchtime on Sunday, 12 percent of JetBlue flights, 6% of Delta Air Lines flights, 5% of United Airlines flights, and 2% of American Airlines flights had been canceled, as per the FlightAware data.
JetBlue spokesperson stated that JetBlue entered the holiday season with the utmost staffing level on the onset of the Flights Are Canceled as Omicron Spreads. Flights Are Canceled But, the airline has seen an increasing number of sick calls from new variants. “If you meet this criterion and are eligible to return to work after 5 days of isolation, you must otherwise stay at home when not at work and continue to take basic precautions until the end of the standard 10-day isolation period,” New York-based JetBlue stated in an employee memo.
Related Article: Covid-19 Cases Records Break as Omicron Spreads Across the World
A United spokeswoman referred to “crew staffing concerns” in the Flights Are Canceled. In the evening time, it was 115, according to FlightAware.
According to a Delta spokeswoman on Sunday afternoon, Delta anticipated the cancellation of roughly 200 flights along with 40 flights on Monday. Earlier this weekend, Delta credited the cold weather, and Omicron spread for the flight cancellation.
An American Airlines spokesman set an inquiry to FlightAware data, which reports 83 cancellations on Sunday. On the other hand, Southwest Airlines canceled 68 flights or 1 percent of the total flights.
Omicron Spread In the United States
With the rapid spread of the Flights Are Canceled as Omicron Spreads variant in the United States, the number of Covid cases has grown drastically. On Christmas Day, 201,000 new cases arrived, according to The New York Times’s coronavirus tracker. This data exceeds the average caseload during this summer’s peak, caused due to Delta variant.
To alleviate the impact, an airline trade group has asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to lessen the recommended isolation period. They asked this new implementation for the fully vaccinated employees, who test positive to a maximum of five days from 10 days before they can return with a negative test.
Extra Pay
As the previous month mass flight disruptions occurred at some carriers, airlines offered extra payment to the crews to make them work in peak holiday periods. It was done to achieve the attendance goals. Airlines buckled up their schedules ahead of the holiday to fulfill the higher demand in the festive seasons. However, the thing didn’t roll out as their expectation, and the cancellation of over 1000 Flights Are Canceled in the United States was a major disruption on Christmas eve. Major airlines of the United States were expecting more crowds on the festive week. However, Flights Are Canceled as Omicron Spreads is causing some serious health concerns around the globe.
