A Lufthansa flight arrived at Miami International Airport last month. The German airline, along with United and Delta, reportedly canceled dozens of departures over Christmas Eve as illness linked to the omicron variant of COVID-19 took its toll on cabin crew.
Lynne Sladky / AP
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Lynne Sladky / AP
A Lufthansa flight arrived at Miami International Airport last month. The German airline, along with United and Delta, reportedly canceled dozens of departures over Christmas Eve as illness linked to the omicron variant of COVID-19 took its toll on cabin crew.
Lynne Sladky / AP
As if this second holiday season of the pandemic weren’t hard enough, many people looking forward to seeing family and friends over Christmas were told at the last minute that they flights have been canceled. One major reason is that the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus has left airlines understaffed.
“The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has directly impacted our fleet and those running our operations,” United Airlines said in a statement to NPR. .
The airline said it canceled more than 120 flights on Friday and is notifying customers before they arrive at the airport. “We’re sorry for the disruption and are working hard to re-enroll as many people as possible and get them on the road for the holidays.”
Likewise, Delta Air Lines canceled about 135 flights on Friday. It said some was due to potential bad weather, but also noted the impact of the omicron variation on its crews.
“Delta teams have exhausted options and resources – including rerouting and replacing aircraft and crews to carry out scheduled flights,” Delta said in a statement to NPR. . “We apologize to our customers for the delay in their holiday travel plans.”
Delta said it is also working to re-register travelers.
Lufthansa is based in Germany as well canceled a dozen transatlantic flights cited a “large increase” in sick leave, though the airline said it could not confirm whether that was related to COVID-19.
On Thursday, Airlines for America (A4A), a lobbying group for airlines, wrote CDC director Rochelle Walensky demanded changes that could ease staffing shortages. The letter said current instructions call for a 10-day quarantine for flight crews. But the A4A wants that to be shortened to 5 days from the onset of symptoms for people experiencing a breakthrough infection.
The lobby group wrote: “Current medical data suggest that Omicron is 25% to 50% more contagious, but is likely to be less virulent and to have milder symptoms particularly in people with fully vaccinated,” the lobby group wrote, noting that the latest variant appears to have a shorter incubation period and infectious period for vaccinated individuals.
On Thursday, the US shortened its COVID-19 isolation rules for health care worker only.
Holiday cancellations are just the latest challenge for the airline industry just starting to recover since the Thanksgiving holiday – the busiest week since the pandemic began. In response to a surge in holiday travel around Christmas, some airlines have encouraged employees to pay to work overtime or not get sick.
