The omikron variant of the coronavirus is confusing flight schedules of airlines. Worldwide, more than 5700 flights have been canceled around Christmas. Thousands more flights were delayed, according to tracking website Flightaware.
At least 2500 flights were canceled on Saturday alone, including nearly 900 to or from US airports. The day before, there were at least 2400 cancellations. In addition, at least 11.000 flights were delayed that day. At least 800 flights have already been canceled on Sunday. According to the Schiphol website, a number of KLM flights will be canceled on Saturday, although the exact reason for this is unknown.
Pilots, flight attendants and other personnel have called in sick or had to be quarantined after exposure to corona. Among the carriers with major problems are Lufthansa, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. United, for example, had to cancel about 10 percent of scheduled flights. Other airlines were also forced to cancel flights during one of the peak periods of the year.
Chinese airlines accounted for the largest number of cancellations. China Eastern canceled about 1000 flights, representing a fifth of the number of flights. Air China also grounded 20 percent of its scheduled flights on Friday and Saturday.
