More than 7,000 flights were canceled worldwide by the airlines during the long weekend of Christmas due to the meteoric progression of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, which is particularly affecting aircraft crews.
Europe is currently the region with the most cases, with 3,022,868 in the last seven days, 57% of the world total, as well as with the highest number of deaths, followed by U.S Y Canada (1 million 421,516 new infections).
France crossed the threshold of 100,000 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours on Christmas Saturday, an unprecedented number. The government will assess the situation on Monday.
The infections detected fell on Sunday: 27,697 new cases in 24 hours, according to official figures, a drop related to the closure of a large number of pharmacies and Covid-19 testing centers on Christmas Day.
While in the United States, where there have been about 190,000 new daily cases in the last seven days, the health authorities of New York warned of an increase in hospitalizations of children, half of them being under five years old, who have not yet are eligible to be vaccinated.
According to the latest report from the Flightaware website, about 2,200 flights have been canceled on Sunday alone and another 7,200 have been delayed. Furthermore, the shocks should continue on Monday (at least 735 planned cancellations) and Tuesday (160 so far).
As of Saturday, the same site had identified nearly 2,800 flight cancellations, 970 of them related to the United States.
Cancellations on Friday were around 2,400 and delays approached 11,000, according to Flightaware.
Many companies had to quarantine pilots, flight attendants, and other staff members who were exposed to Covid. For that reason Lufthansa, Delta Y United Airlines they had to cancel flights.
According to Flightaware, United Airlines canceled 439 flights on Friday and Saturday, about 10% of those scheduled.
“The peak of Omicron cases across the country this week has had a direct impact on our crews and the people who run our operations,” explained the US company, which said it is working to find solutions for affected passengers.
Delta Air Lines It also canceled more than 300 flights on Saturday and 170 the day before, again according to Flightaware, which cites Ómicron as the main cause of cancellations, and occasionally adverse weather conditions.
“Delta teams have exhausted all options and resources” before coming to these cancellations, argued the airline.
More than ten flights of Alaska Airlines, whose employees said they had been “potentially exposed to the virus” and announced their decision to self-quarantine.
Snowfall and heavy rain
Weather conditions contributed to flight suppressions.
In the western United States, snow storms and sharp drops in temperatures were forecast, further complicating an already chaotic situation.
“The abnormally cold and humid conditions of the Pacific will result in prolonged periods of snowfall and rain,” said the United States National Weather Service (NWS).
Chinese airlines were responsible for the majority of cancellations: only between China Eastern Y Air China they canceled more than 2,000 flights.
All these cancellations constitute a blow to the long-awaited resumption of travel in the end of the year holidays, after a 2020 Christmas severely marked by the pandemic.
In the United States, according to estimates by the Automobile AssociationMore than 109 million people were expected to leave their immediate area by plane, train or car between December 23 and January 2, an increase of 34% from last year.
As of 11:00 GMT this Sunday, the pandemic had killed at least 5,394,775 people worldwide since the WHO office in China reported the onset of the disease at the end of December 2019 in that country, according to a report prepared by AFP from official sources.
The Chinese city of Xi’an, where 13 million inhabitants are confined, announced this Sunday a “total” disinfection and tightened the restrictions, at the moment when the country registers its highest peak of infections in 21 months.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx