Kanishka Singh

(Reuters.) – On Sunday more than 3,000 flights were canceled around the world, with half being U.S., adding to holiday travel disruptions caused by adverse weather and the Omicron variant’s surge in coronavirus infections.

According to FlightAware.com, over 3,300 flights were cancelled on Sunday at noon GMT. This includes more than 1,900 departing or entering the United States. Over 4,800 flights were total delayed, including those cancelled but delayed.

The peak season for air travel is typically Christmas and New Year. However, the rapid spread Omicron variant, which can be highly transmissible, has caused airlines to cancel many flights and put crew and pilots in quarantine.

Coronavirus-related staff shortages led to transportation agencies all over the United States suspending and reducing their services.

Omicron’s record-breaking case count has dampened New Year celebrations all over the globe.

Some companies had to alter their plans in order to have more employees work from home after the rise of COVID-19-related cases in America.

Chevron Corp (NYSE 🙂 wanted to begin a complete return to office on January 3, but in December, it informed its employees that the move was being postponed indefinitely.

A Reuters count shows that the U.S. government registered at most 346,869 cases of new coronaviruses on Saturday. According to Reuters, the death toll in America from COVID-19 increased by at least 377 to 828,562.

U.S. cabin crews, pilots and support personnel were reluctant to work overtime over the holiday season, even though they received substantial financial incentives. Many employees feared COVID-19 and didn’t like dealing with unruly passengers.

Airlines were trying to recruit employees for the holiday season, in order to retain their staff after having had to furlough or lay off thousands of workers over the past 18 months due the pandemic.