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Home  >  News  >  Delays, Cancellations Continue To Impact U.S. Airlines
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Delays, Cancellations Continue To Impact U.S. Airlines

Matthew Klint Posted onDecember 28, 2021December 28, 2021 8 Comments

Monday marked another very rough operational day for many U.S. airlines. Will today be any better?

Winter Storms, Omicron Hit U.S. Airlines Hard

Airlines continue to blame bad weather and the omicron variant for flight delays and cancellations, as winter storms and a highly contagious virus undermine operations.

According to FlightAware, most U.S. airlines experienced a rough day yesterday:

  • SkyWest (which operates feeder flights for Delta and United) cancelled 439 flights (17%) and delayed 859 flights (35%).
  • Alaska Airlines cancelled 172 flights (24%) and delayed 313 flights (44%). This certainly satisfies the definition of a meltdown.
    • Horizon cancelled 50 flights (16%) and delayed 153 flights (50%).
  • Delta Air Lines cancelled 136 flights (5%) and delayed 914 flights (44%).
  • Spirit Airlines cancelled 108 flights (12%) and delayed 276 flights (33%).
  • United Airlines canceled 104 flights (4%) and delayed 723 flights (33%).
  • American Airlines cancelled 93 flights (3%) and delayed 529 flights (18%).
  • JetBlue cancelled 82 flights (7%) and delayed 427 flights (41%).
  • Allegiant Air cancelled 64 flights (12%) and delayed 216 flights (43%).
  • Southwest Airlines cancelled 62 flights (1%) and delayed 1,550 flights (40%).
  • Mesa cancelled 48 flights (9%) and delayed 137 flights (26%).
  • Frontier cancelled 17 flights (3%) and delayed 214 flights (39%).

Seattle was hit with a particularly heavy storm, prompting so many cancellations and delays at Alaska Airlines and its Horizon subsidiary. SkyWest operates many flights on behalf of Delta from Seattle and also was heavily impacted.

Still, airlines continue to blame the omicron variant for the flight disruptions, dating back to Christmas Eve.

An American Airlines spokesperson clarified:

“Our operation has been running smoothly, and unfortunately a number of COVID-related sick calls led us to make the difficult decision to precancel some flights scheduled for today [Saturday].

“We proactively notified affected customers yesterday, and are working hard to rebook them quickly. We never want to disappoint our customers and apologize for any disruptions to their holiday travel plans.”

A Delta spokesperson also apologized for the delay:

“Flight cancellations are due to a combination of issues, including but not limited to, potential inclement weather in some areas and the impact of the omicron variant.

“We apologize to customers for the delay in their holiday travel plans. Delta people are working together around the clock to reroute and substitute aircraft and crews to get customers where they need to be as quickly and safely as possible. When that’s not possible, Delta Reservations specialists coordinated with our Operations and Customer Care Center to get those impacted on the next available flight.”

A JetBlue spokesperson explained:

“Like many businesses and organizations, we have seen an increasing number of sick calls from Omicron. We entered the holiday season with the highest staffing levels we’ve had since the pandemic began and are using all resources available to us to cover our staffing needs. Despite our best efforts, we’ve had to cancel a number of flights, and additional flight cancellations and other delays remain a possibility as we see more Omicron community spread.

“The health and safety of our crewmembers and customers remains our top priority as we work through this pandemic, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience that these schedule changes bring during the holidays.”

A United spokesperson noted:

“The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation. As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel some flights and are notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport. We’re sorry for the disruption and are working hard to rebook as many people as possible and get them on their way for the holidays.”

Thus far, both SkyWest and United have already canceled over 100 flights today. Southwest, JetBlue, and Delta are not far behind.

CONCLUSION

A holiday, bad weather, and a contagious new variant have created a perfect storm heavily impacting airline operations in the United States. While today may not be as bad as yesterday, it is already shaping up to be another rough day for U.S. travelers.

image: Liam Allport

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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8 Comments

  1. Don Reply
    December 28, 2021 at 10:39 am

    It’s not omicron – it’s our response to it.

    Our supply chain issues aren’t caused by a virus – it’s caused by our ludicious over-reaction to a virus.

    Get the facts right man. It’s been 2 years.
    We did this to ourselves.

    • Santastico Reply
      December 28, 2021 at 3:57 pm

      We didn’t. Lord Fauci and Demented Brandon did. Omicron is a joke. I got the original Covid and tested positive 4 months later. My brother got Omicron and tested negative 5 days later. But we have to wear masks on a plane because of the stupid brainwashing. But at least they made a deal with Covid so everyone can take masks off and enjoy dinner and beverages while on the plane. The theater is falling apart.

      • IknowMorethanScietists Reply
        December 28, 2021 at 11:00 pm

        Me and my pal cletus were just saying the same thing, no dag gum liberal smarty pants is going to wash my brain! I got “covid” 4 times and everything I needed to get over the hoax was on the shelves at tractor supply. I can’t walk up a flight of stairs anymore but no way are those college graduates going to tread on me! Yee haw!

  2. Dave Edwards Reply
    December 28, 2021 at 10:55 am

    Good day so far for airline stocks so it appears reality is setting in that Omnicron and it’s lack of serious affects may be the end of the Covid scare for most logical people. The fearmongers and those with agendas may keep pushing it but it’s becoming more obvious this version isn’t a threat to the vast majority of average Americans.

  3. Jason Reply
    December 28, 2021 at 11:49 am

    Skywest also operates a fairly large network for Alaska. This link allows you to view all SkyWest flights or just the SkyWest flights you want to see by marketing carrier. Pretty nifty. Though not huge at Seattle, it does operate a decent amount of flights in Seattle and Portland for Alaska, though the majority seem to be to/from California.
    https://www.skywest.com/fly-skywest-airlines/skywest-airlines-route-map

  4. David Reply
    December 28, 2021 at 2:57 pm

    How can this be? They were all mandated to get the vaccine.

    • Mark Reply
      December 28, 2021 at 11:10 pm

      The vaccine won’t prevent you from catching COVID but will keep your symptoms more mild. Everyone I know who has died from COVID was unvaccinated, and their final hours in the hospital were spent surrounded by other unvaccinated patients, taking up most of the available beds.

  5. Santastico Reply
    December 28, 2021 at 3:51 pm

    Omicron my a..!!! Let’s Go Brandon!!

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