More than 2,000 flights canceled around the world due to the advance of ómicron

More than 2,000 flights have been canceled around the world on Christmas Eve, marked by the advancement of the omicron variant, reported the American company Flight Aware, which specializes in providing real-time data on flights.

At 9:00 am local time on the east coast of the United States (14:00 GMT), 2,045 flights had already been suspended worldwide, of which 457 were destined or starting point in the United States.

In addition, 4,604 routes have experienced delays globally, of which 509 were heading to the United States or departing from that country.

According to Flight Aware, the US airlines with the most delays are United with 9% of its flights canceled and 3% delayed, as well as Delta which had to cancel 6% of its itineraries and 2% were delayed.

In a statement, a Delta spokesperson explained that the cancellations are occurring due to a “combination of problems”Which include weather difficulties in some areas, as well as the impact of the omicron variant, which has made some workers have to stay home.

Meanwhile, in another statement, United stated that omicron is having a “direct hit”In the flight crews and the rest of the company personnel.

Behind the cancellations in the United States, a fight is raging between the managers of the big airlines and the unions.

Just the day before (Thursday), the pressure group Airlines for America, which represents Delta, United and American, among others, sent a letter to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, in English). ), Rochelle Walensky, to ask him to relax the guidelines of that institution on the isolation period that those who have been exposed to the virus must comply with.

Currently, the CDC advises a ten-day isolation, but Airlines for America wants it to be a maximum of five.

In response, the union of flight attendants, known as AFA, also wrote Walensky a letter requesting that the ten days of isolation be maintained.

The omicron variant has caused an increase in infections around the world and has caused some European countries, such as Germany, Portugal and Finland, to re-impose restrictions on the leisure and restaurant sectors.

According to the CDC, this variant has already become the predominant one in the United States, since between last December 12 and 18 it accounted for 73.2% of new cases.