Of the 1,474 flights, 136 were pulled by Delta airlines, 108 were scrapped from United, 172 from Alaska airlines, and 93 were pulled from American airlines. Globally, 16,026 were delayed.
Thousands of flights, both national and international, have been canceled during the peak holiday season amid a surge in COVID-19 cases which airlines say have affected employees and flight crew, leading to staffing issues.
“We’re sorry for the disruption and are working hard to rebook as many people as possible and get them on their way for the holidays,” the spokesperson said.
Alaska Airlines attributed its cancellations and delays to snow and freezing weather conditions that are disrupting operations at its largest hub, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
“We’re deeply sorry to our guests for the delay in their holiday travel plans and are working hard to reposition aircraft and crews back to the West Coast to get everyone where they need to be as quickly and safely as possible,” said Constance von Muehlen, chief operating officer and executive vice president.
Last week, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said the Omicron variant accounted for more than 90 percent of COVID-19 cases in the South, Midwest, eastern Atlantic, and northern Pacific regions of the United States.
But on Monday, the CDC cut the number of days of isolation for Americans who contract COVID-19 from 10 days to five days, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others, regardless of their vaccination status, reversing its previous recommendation. The agency also shortened the time that close contacts of COVID-19 need to quarantine to five days.
“Not all of those cases are going to be severe. In fact many are going to be asymptomatic,” she said. “We want to make sure there is a mechanism by which we can safely continue to keep society functioning while following the science.”