On New Year's Day, US Air Travel Chaos Continues... 2,500 Flights Canceled Due to Omicron and Heavy Snow

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The aviation chaos in the United States, which began during last year's Christmas holiday, continued into the first day of the new year. The number of canceled flights increased due to the spread of COVID-19 and heavy snowfall in many regions.

According to the flight tracking site FlightAware, as of noon local time on the 1st, 2,471 domestic and international flights departing from or arriving in the U.S. were canceled. This is the highest number of flight cancellations in a single day during the aviation chaos that started just before last Christmas.

AP News reported that more than 12,000 flights have been canceled in the U.S. since Christmas Eve. U.S. media analyzed that the highly contagious Omicron variant has caused a shortage of aviation personnel such as pilots and flight attendants, while heavy snowfall centered in the U.S. Midwest has grounded many aircraft.

The hardest hit area was Chicago, which was battered by a winter storm. At Chicago Midway International Airport, 57% of all scheduled flights for the day were canceled, and at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, 45% of scheduled flights were canceled in large numbers.

Many flights also failed to take off from Denver, Kansas City, Detroit, and Newark in New Jersey.

By airline, Southwest Airlines canceled 472 flights, accounting for 13% of its total operations, while American, Delta, United, and JetBlue Airlines each canceled more than 100 flights.

AP reported that U.S. airlines are making efforts to secure personnel by paying pilots more than three times their usual salary as the cancellation crisis prolongs.

Worldwide, including the U.S., a total of 4,282 flights were canceled on this day. China Eastern Airlines and Air China each canceled more than 20% of their scheduled flights.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.