12,000 Cancelled

From the BBC:

“US flight cancellations hit new holiday peak amid Covid and bad weather”

Flight cancellations in the US have hit a new peak in a Christmas season hit hard by the Covid pandemic and bad weather. Nearly 4,400 flights around the world were cancelled on Saturday, more than 2,500 of them in the US, air traffic site FlightAware reported. Airlines have been struggling with staffing problems with crew quarantining after contracting Covid. Adding to travellers' woes, heavy snow has hit the central US. From the US cancellations, more than 1,000 are from Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports. "Today's cancellations are driven by Omicron staffing and weather-related issues. We did pre-cancel flights in anticipation of inclement weather. We've been contacting passengers early if their flights are cancelled to give them time to rebook or make other plans," United Airlines said in a statement. Sunday, when many people often return home from their Christmas holidays, is likely to bring further disruption, with more snow and heavy winds forecast. "It's too long and there's no space to spend the time, get something to eat, it's a long time here," one traveller stuck at O'Hare airport told ABC news in Chicago. Since 24 December, more than 12,000 flights have been cancelled in the US. Airlines have been trying to woo crew with extra pay to tackle the staff shortages. But unions say workers fear contracting Covid or having to deal with angry passengers. The US is facing a surge in Covid cases powered by the Omicron variant.

^ 2,500 flights cancelled in the US today and 12,000 since December 24^th. Clearly the Airlines need to do better. I understand that Covid and the weather are playing a big factor, but the airlines should have anticipated this and cancelled flights earlier rather than at the last minute as they tend to – causing thousands of passengers scrambling. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59848651