Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) – Thousands of flights within the United States and internationally were delayed and hundreds were canceled early on Friday, adding to the tally of delays and cancellations during the holiday week due to adverse weather conditions and rising cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant https://www.reuters.com/world/us/experts-warn-omicron-blizzard-disrupt-us-next-month-2021-12-30.

According to FlightAware.com, over 2,400 global flights had been canceled as of Friday morning. This includes more than 1,100 domestic flights and flights entering or leaving the United States. Nearly 4,000 flights were delayed worldwide.

Christmas is a busy time to fly, however, the spread of Omicron, a highly transmissible variant, has caused a rapid increase in COVID-19 infection rates, causing airlines to cancel their flights. Crew and pilots must be quarantined.

Omicron’s unexpected arrival has caused record-setting cases to be reported in all countries. As the Omicron variant rises in the United States, transportation agencies around the country are cutting or suspending service.

On Thursday, for the second day in a row, the United States had a record number of new reported cases https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-coronavirus-cases-hit-record-high-2021-12-29 based on the seven-day average, with more than 290,000 new infections reported each day, a Reuters tally showed, as U.S. officials weigh the impact of the Omicron variant.

U.S. airlines cabin crew, pilots, and support staff will not work overtime in the holiday season despite receiving substantial financial incentives. According to some unions, many workers do not want to have to deal with passengers who are disruptive and fear they will contract COVID-19.

Airlines were trying to attract employees in the months before the holidays after laying off or furloughing thousands of workers over 18 months since the pandemic decimated the industry.