Dozens of Flights Canceled in Chicago as Omicron Snarls Holiday Weekend Air Travel

O’Hare International Airport reported dozens of canceled flights for another day Sunday as airline staffing issues brought on by the omicron variant resulted in cancellations and delays nationwide, putting a damper on Christmas weekend travel plans. A total of 1,233 U.S. flights had been canceled as of 6 p.m. Sunday, and another 5,118 flights were delayed, according to the flight tracking website Flightaware.com. In Chicago, 46 cancellations were reported at O’Hare Airport as of 6 p.m., along with 336 delays. Midway International Airport reported only two flight cancellations within the most recent 24-hour span. Delta, United and JetBlue airlines have all blamed the omicron variant for staffing shortages that forced cancellations. Globally, airlines scrapped about 2,900 flights as of Sunday evening, slightly up from more than 2,800 from the day before, FlightAware’s data showed. The site does not say why flights are canceled. JetBlue scrapped 10% of its flights Sunday. Delta canceled 5% and United canceled 4%, according to FlightAware. The three airlines canceled more than 10% of their scheduled flights on Saturday.

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