Flight Delays, Cancellations Strand Thousands of Travelers

Staffing issues, quarantines after COVID testing, and early retirements have the airlines short-staffed and passengers short-tempered.

Meg Godlewski

Monday, December 27, 2021 at 02:56 PM ET

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A plane approaches Seattle Tacoma International Airport in Seatac, Washington. [Credit: Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

Thousands of holiday flights across the U.S. are experiencing cancellations and delays due to a combination of factors.
Primary causes include airline staffing shortages, exacerbated by Omicron variant infections requiring crew quarantines, and a pre-existing deficit from 2020 early retirements.
Severe winter weather, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, is also a significant contributor, prompting airlines to request the CDC shorten quarantine periods as travel demand nears pre-pandemic levels.

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Thousands of travelers are having their holiday plans disrupted owing to a combination of reduced staffing blamed on the surge of the omicron variant of COVID-19 and wintery weather resulting in the cancellation and delay of thousands of airline flights across the country.

According to FlightAware, between December 24 and 10 a.m. PT on Monday, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, and United Airlines were forced to cancel or delay more than 2,466 flights.