According to data from the flight tracking site FlightAware.com, the flights canceled Sunday were more than 2,400 flights to or within the United States and nearly 4,000 worldwide. More than 11,200 flights have also been delayed worldwide. The continued rapid spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant has resulted in a surge in contaminations, forcing crew members to self-quarantine and airlines to cancel flights.
In the United States, this situation is expected to continue. According to forecasts, more than 2,200 flights have already been canceled for Monday. Especially since the arrival of the winter storm Frida has been added since Saturday. Chicago airports have been the most affected since Saturday. About half of the flights there were canceled on Sunday, as the region experienced heavy snowfall. The situation is also complicated in Denver (Colorado), Newark (New Jersey), or even Detroit (Michigan). However, this storm will continue on its way to touch the East Coast. Snow is expected from Boston south to the federal capital Washington. More than 1,400 flights are not expected to be operated.
Many dysfunctions
Obviously, this situation causes major malfunctions at airports. Due to understaffing, you sometimes have to wait a long time to collect your luggage or wait long minutes on the phone to get someone from an airline to find another flight.
Southwest passenger Nick Kagy has had his flight canceled. “We waited almost 3 hours to change reservations because we could not change reservations online, and after having sorted out (not completely) things, you canceled our second flight to another airport”, laments. he on Twitter.
Eric Crawford also deplored on Twitter to have been notified by the company Delta Airline “an estimated wait of more than 22 hours to be able to have someone online following the cancellation of a flight. “