© EFE Thousands of travelers encountered significant journey disruptions.
The start of 2022 saw widespread flight cancellations globally, a consequence of the ongoing pandemic. A staggering 2,500 flights were grounded in the US alone, contributing to a global total of approximately 4,500 cancellations this past Saturday.
This information comes from FlightAware, a prominent flight tracking service. This daily cancellation figure marked the highest single-day count since the Christmas period, when airlines cited understaffing due to a surge in COVID-19 cases among crew.
Severe weather exacerbated the problem. In Chicago, inclement winter conditions, including 23 centimeters of snowfall, led to the cancellation of 800 flights at O’Hare International Airport and over 250 at Midway International Airport. Similar disruptions, with at least 100 cancellations apiece, affected Detroit, Newark, and Denver.
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