The number of canceled flights worldwide during the Christmas weekend rose to 6000

Major airlines in United State Hundreds of flights were canceled this Sunday (26), the third day in a row of mass cancellations and delays over the Christmas holidays, as airline employees were laid off due to illness amid rising cases. micron variable.

According to FlightAware, nearly 700 flights were canceled and 1,300 more were postponed on Sunday. Globally, there have been more than 2,000 cancellations. Delta and JetBlue registered more than 100 cancellations on Sunday.

Globally, airlines canceled more than 6000 flights on the eve Natal (24), at Christmas and the next day, according to FlightAware. This includes approximately 1,700 flights within, to or outside the United States.

Operational hurdles are occurring for airlines while millions are still traveling, despite rising cases COVID-19.

The TSA says it tracked 2.19 million passengers at airports across the country on Thursday, the largest number since the surge in holiday travel that began a week ago.

More than a thousand flights canceled in the United States

On Thursday, United Airlines said it needed to “cancel some flights” due to the Micron variant. United memorandum obtained by the company said CNN.

The company canceled 201 flights on Friday representing 10% of its total schedule, and 238 flights on Saturday representing 12% of its schedule, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

United said it “notifies affected customers in advance of their flight to the airport,” according to the company’s statement. “We regret the interruption and are working hard to reschedule as many people as possible and move them en route for vacation.”

Later Thursday night, Delta Air Lines also canceled its flights. The airline grounded 173 flights on Christmas Eve, according to FlightAware.

Delta said the cancellations were due to several issues, including the Micron variant.

“We apologize to our customers for the delay in their vacation travel plans,” Delta said in a statement. “Delta employees are working hard to get them to where they need to be as fast and safe as possible on the next available flight.”

In addition, JetBlue canceled 80 flights, or about 7% of its total schedule, on Christmas Eve.

Alaska Airlines said in a statement that it canceled 17 flights due to Micron on Thursday and that more cancellations will be possible on Christmas Eve. The airline canceled 11 flights on Friday.

Thousands of international flights have also been canceled by China Eastern Airlines, which suspended 474 flights, or 22% of its operations, according to FlightAware.

Similarly, Air China canceled about 190 flights, or 15% of its schedule. Air India, Shenzhen Airlines and Lion Air and Wings Air have also canceled dozens of flights.