The omicron variant has caused an increase in infections around the world.
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.
As of 09:00 local time on the US East Coast (14:00 GMT), 2,045 flights had already been suspended worldwide, of which 457 were to the United States as their destination or point of departure.
In addition, 4,604 routes have experienced delays globally, of which 509 were heading to the US 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” that 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 claimed that omicron is having a “direct impact” on flight crews and other company personnel.
Behind the cancellations in the US there is a fight between the managers of the big airlines and the unions.
Just yesterday 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 you 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 10-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 December 12 and 18 it accounted for 73.2% of new cases. (I)
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