More than 2800 flights have been cancelled today worldwide as COVID-19 cases surge across the globe.
Of the more than 2800 cancelled flights, around 1000 were within, into or out of the United States, according to FlightAware. Almost 11,000 flights are delayed.
Globally, airlines cancelled more than 6000 flights on Christmas Eve, Christmas and the day after Christmas.
In the US, more than 1200 flights were cancelled and more than 5000 were delayed on Sunday alone as staff and crew called in sick.The cancellations come at the busiest time of year for air travel.
The US Transportation Security Administration said it screened millions of people each day over the holiday weekend, peaking at 2.19 million travellers on Thursday, December 23.
On Wednesday, more people passed through TSA checkpoints than on the same day in 2019.
Alaska Airlines, which cancelled 133 flights or 19 per cent of its operations Monday local time, attributed its cancellations and delays on winter weather in the Pacific Northwest.
The airline said it cancelled almost 250 mainline flights scheduled to arrive or depart from Seattle Sunday.
As of Monday afternoon, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has the most delays and cancellations in the world, according to FlightAware.
European airlines are also experiencing a small number of cancellations amid record-breaking numbers of COVID-19 cases in several European nations.A British Airways spokesperson told CNN on Monday that the airline had cancelled “a number of flights due to operational constraints,” ​and are instead using larger aircrafts, where possible, to get customers to their destinations. According to tracking website FlightAware, 46 flights from British Airways were cancelled on Monday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!