Over 2,300 US Flight Cancellations Continue into New Year... More Than 2,300 Flights Canceled on Sunday

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seol Gina Jo] The aviation chaos in the United States continues into the new year. The spread of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron has exacerbated the shortage of airline staff, compounded by severe weather such as winter storms and heavy snowfall.

Local media including Politico, citing the flight tracking site FlightAware, reported that on Sunday the 2nd (local time), more than 2,300 flights, including domestic US flights and flights departing from the US, were canceled. Globally, over 3,900 flights were canceled.

On the previous day, New Year's Day, about 2,700 US flights and 4,700 flights worldwide were canceled. This is the largest scale since the aviation chaos began in the US on the 24th of last month.

Politico stated, "Due to the spread of COVID-19, airlines are short of staff," and added, "The winter storm that hit the US Midwest over the weekend also had an impact." At Chicago O'Hare International Airport, a major hub of US air traffic, about one-quarter of all flights were canceled that day.

Sundays are typically days with high demand for air travel. Local media also noted that many travelers were returning home by air after the New Year holiday this weekend. American Airlines conveyed the situation, saying, "Most of the flights canceled on Sunday were canceled earlier than scheduled to prevent chaos at the airports."

Industry insiders expect this situation to continue until mid-January. JetBlue, headquartered in New York, confirmed to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that it has adjusted its flight schedule through mid-January. CNN also reported, "Flight cancellations will continue into next week."

The US aviation chaos has been ongoing since the 24th of last month. According to FlightAware, over 14,000 flights have been canceled in the past ten days.

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