Thousands of would-be travelers received a last-minute cancellation of their Christmas Eve flight because of the recent spike of Omicron cases.
According to Flight Aware, at least 131 flights were canceled by United Airlines on Friday and another 28 on Saturday. The website said that other airlines, including Delta, had also done the same.
It is the latest blow to the holiday season caused by the new and highly transmissible Omicron variant. Over the last two weeks, the number of people testing positive for coronaviruses has increased by 38 percent.
United said that Omicron had a direct impact on their flight crews and people who run their operation.
Joshua Freed said that United notified customers as soon as it could after crew members called in sick. Mr. Freed doesn't think the airline will cancel more flights, but it is a possibility.
He said that they were really managing this day by day. There may be more flight cancelations on Saturday. It is possible.
John Ferris was one of dozens of customers who took to social media to complain about the last-minute cancellation. There are no flights available. Ba humbug.
The airline said it is trying to rebook as many people as possible in time for the holidays.
