Flight cancellations drag on as airlines short-staffed

mhm. Mhm mm hmm, mm hmm. Yeah the airlines have been scrambling and they've just been hit with a series of powerful punches. Um And they you know they all thought that they had been through the worst of it and we're coming out when Macron emerged in november. Uh And obviously a micron is affecting not just us airlines but airlines around the world. They've done a lot to reduce the risk but they can't get that risk down to zero. So what I would say is that as we see the data coming out of trusted organizations such as C. D. C. Uh and others like it uh that that will tell you what travel is going to be like if you see a lot of people getting sick you can assume that some of those folks work at the airline you're supposed to fly this week.

Airlines continued to cancel hundreds of flights Saturday as staffing issues tied to COVID-19 disrupted holiday celebrations during one of the busiest travel times of the year.FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, noted 888 flights entering, leaving or inside the U.S. canceled Saturday, up from 690 Friday. About 200 more flights were already canceled for Sunday. FlightAware does not say why flights are canceled.Delta, United and JetBlue on Friday had all said the omicron variant was causing staffing problems leading to flight cancellations. United spokesperson Maddie King said staffing shortages were still causing cancellations and it was unclear when normal operations would return. "This was unexpected," she said of omicron's impact on staffing. Delta and JetBlue did not immediately respond to questions Saturday.According to FlightAware, the three airlines canceled more than 10% of their Saturday scheduled flights. American Airlines also canceled 90 flights Saturday, about 3% of its schedule, according to FlightAware. American spokesperson Derek Walls said the cancellations stemmed from "COVID-related sick calls" and the airline contacted customers on Friday. European and Australian airlines have also canceled holiday-season flights due to staffing problems tied to COVID.Flight delays and cancellations tied to staffing shortages have been a regular problem for the U.S. airline industry this year. Airlines encouraged workers to quit in 2020, when air travel collapsed, and were caught short-staffed this year as travel recovered.To ease staffing shortages, countries including Spain and the U.K. have reduced the length of COVID-19 quarantines by letting people return to work sooner after testing positive or being exposed to the virus.Delta CEO Ed Bastian was among those who have called on the Biden administration to take similar steps or risk further disruptions in air travel. On Thursday, the U.S. shortened COVID-19 isolation rules for health care workers only.

NEW YORK —

Airlines continued to cancel hundreds of flights Saturday as staffing issues tied to COVID-19 disrupted holiday celebrations during one of the busiest travel times of the year.

FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, noted 888 flights entering, leaving or inside the U.S. canceled Saturday, up from 690 Friday. About 200 more flights were already canceled for Sunday. FlightAware does not say why flights are canceled.

Delta, United and JetBlue on Friday had all said the omicron variant was causing staffing problems leading to flight cancellations. United spokesperson Maddie King said staffing shortages were still causing cancellations and it was unclear when normal operations would return. "This was unexpected," she said of omicron's impact on staffing. Delta and JetBlue did not immediately respond to questions Saturday.

According to FlightAware, the three airlines canceled more than 10% of their Saturday scheduled flights. American Airlines also canceled 90 flights Saturday, about 3% of its schedule, according to FlightAware. American spokesperson Derek Walls said the cancellations stemmed from "COVID-related sick calls" and the airline contacted customers on Friday. European and Australian airlines have also canceled holiday-season flights due to staffing problems tied to COVID.

Flight delays and cancellations tied to staffing shortages have been a regular problem for the U.S. airline industry this year. Airlines encouraged workers to quit in 2020, when air travel collapsed, and were caught short-staffed this year as travel recovered.

To ease staffing shortages, countries including Spain and the U.K. have reduced the length of COVID-19 quarantines by letting people return to work sooner after testing positive or being exposed to the virus.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian was among those who have called on the Biden administration to take similar steps or risk further disruptions in air travel. On Thursday, the U.S. shortened COVID-19 isolation rules for health care workers only.

Flight cancellations drag on as airlines short-staffed

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