Washington Jan. 1 (U.S.): For air travelers, the new year has ended where the old one left off — with plenty of frustration.
By mid-morning Saturday on the East Coast, more than 2,300 US flights had been canceled, according to tracking service FlightAware.
This is the highest single-day tally so far since airlines began blaming staff shortages for an increase in COVID-19 infections among crews just before Christmas, the Associated Press said.
However, Saturday’s disruption wasn’t just due to the virus. Winter weather has made Chicago the worst place in the country for travelers, with 800 flights canceled at O’Hare Airport and more than 250 flights at Midway Airport.
Southwest has canceled more than 450 flights, or 13% of its schedule. SkyWest, which operates flights such as American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express, has grounded more than 400 flights, or 21% of its schedule. American, Delta, United and JetBlue have covered more than 100 flights each.
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