For air travelers, the New Year picked up where the old left off – with great frustration.
As of late Saturday morning on the East Coast, more than 2,400 flights in the United States and nearly 4,200 worldwide had been canceled, according to the FlightAware tracking service.
It is the highest one-day toll to date since just before Christmas, when airlines began to blame staff shortages on rising COVID-19 infections among crews. More than 12,000 US flights have been canceled since December 24.
However, Saturday’s disruptions weren’t just due to the virus. The wintry weather made Chicago the worst place in the country for travelers, with 800 flights cleaned up at O’Hare Airport and over 250 at Midway Airport. The forecast was for nine inches of snow. Denver, Detroit and Newark, New Jersey, suffered at least 100 cancellations each.
Southwest Airlines, which has major operations in Chicago Midway and Denver, canceled more than 450 flights nationwide, or 13% of its schedule, by mid-morning. American, Delta, United and JetBlue have made more than 100 flights each.
SkyWest, a regional carrier that operates flights under the names of American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express, has grounded more than 400 flights, or 21% of its schedule.
Among international carriers, China Eastern has canceled more than 500 flights, or about a quarter of its total, and Air China has canceled more than 200 flights, a fifth of its schedule, according to FlightAware.
Airlines say they are taking action to reduce cancellations. United is offering to pay pilots triple or more of their regular wages to take flights open until mid-January. Southwest and others have also increased premiums for some workers.
When winter weather hit the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, Alaska Airlines urged customers to delay all “non-essential” trips scheduled this weekend. With full flights over the New Years holiday, the airline said it was not sure it could book passengers stranded for at least three days.
Travelers who stuck to the roads rather than the heavens also faced challenges. Midwestern transportation officials have warned motorists that a mixture of rain and snow could make roads slippery and reduce visibility, resulting in dangerous driving conditions.
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