More than 6,000 flights have been canceled worldwide over the long Christmas weekend and thousands more were delayed, a tracking website reported Sunday, as the highly infectious Omicron variant brings holiday hurt to millions
Recorded Covid cases are rising sharply around the world, largely driven by the Omicron variant. The majority of the flights canceled on Monday are those by Chinese companies, including China Eastern (368) and Air China (141).
Airports in Beijing and Shanghai appear to be the worst affected, with nearly 300 cancellations combined. The Chinese authorities have not commented on the issue.
Meanwhile, the worst-hit US companies are United (84) and JetBlue (66). United warned last week that a spike in Omicron cases had “had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation”, with many employees required to self-isolate after coming into contact with those infected.
