People love to Travel by air, but airlines in the United States struggle to adhere to schedules. They are facing the disruption of flights for the 12th day in a row. This is because of a combination of inclement weather and attacks by the Omicron variant of coronavirus. The latter has led to staff shortages and the consequent cancellation of flights. Apart from cancellations, there have been delays in flights going to, from, or within the country. These are in thousands, and no one knows when things will become normal.
Over 6,000 flights were canceled worldwide during Christmas weekend due to the Omicron surge.
One of the airlines canceled 580 flights and delayed 589. The irregularity in flights affected the travel plans of the holiday crowd, and they took to social media to share their feelings. These began before Christmas Eve and went on for 12 consecutive days. During the festive season, travelers had no other alternative but to sleep on airport floors and line up at check-in counters all over the country.
The situation of flights is worsening
Coronavirus originated in China and struck the world in March 2020. It left a trail of death all over the world. Finally, vaccines came on the scene and people expected normalcy to return. The authorities withdrew many restrictions, but the freedom was short-lived as other variants like Delta and Omicron emerged.
These have devastated travel, and those with links with the travel and hospitality industries are trying to reconcile the losses. Customers are jamming up phone lines along with check-in counters. Daily Mail UK quotes an official of United saying: "The nationwide spike in Omicron cases has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation." The airline went on to predict more cancellations in the offing due to “winter weather”' in the Northeast and Denver.
Unusual winter weather plus the Omicron variant led to chaos
There are occasional cancellations of flights and delays due to technical reasons. There could be other reasons also and these are usually of short duration. Whatever be the reason, these give rise to long waits at the airport and wastage of time. The long planning for holidays becomes unproductive.
In the present state of affairs, it is a worry for the operators. They have to evolve strategies to utilize the available resources to deliver satisfaction to the customers. Daily Mail UK adds that airlines have to balance the staffing by taking into account whether disruptions and COVID-19 sick call counts. It seems experts had an inkling of the current flight chaos back in October. At that time, pilots were already complaining about work conditions and lack of staff.
Irregularity in flights could continue for some more time
According to New York Post, there is the likelihood of flight disruptions for some more time. It is an uncontrollable situation because one of the elements involved is the weather, the other is the contagious disease.
Flight cancellations in the United States went beyond the 1,000 mark for the 12th straight day. This scenario is not normally seen, and it began on Christmas Eve. That is when the Omicron variant drove a renewed surge of COVID-19 cases and exposures. The result was crew shortages for the airlines. Officials in Los Angeles said many staffers of American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Southwest Airlines tested positive at Los Angeles International Airport.
