For air travelers around the world, the New Year He continued where the previous one left off, with much frustration. Shortly before noon Saturday on the east coast, more than 2,400 flights in U.S and nearly 4,200 worldwide had been canceled, according to flight monitoring service FlightAware.
It was the highest single-day figure since before Christmas, when airlines began alleging they were suffering staff shortages from a spike in COVID-19 infections among crews. Since December 24, more than 12 thousand flights in the United States have been canceled.
However, saturday interruptions they weren’t just due to the virus. Wintry weather made Chicago the worst place in the country for travelers, with 800 flights canceled at O’Hare Airport and more than 250 at Midway Airport. The forecasts spoke of 23 centimeters (nine inches) of snow. Denver, Detroit and Newark airports in New Jersey were hit with at least 100 cancellations each.
Southwest Airlines, which has major operations in Chicago Midway and Denver, had canceled more than 450 flights nationwide by mid-morning, or 13% of its services. American, Delta, United and JetBlue canceled more than 100 flights each.
SkyWest, a regional airline that operates flights under the names American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express, grounded more than 400 flights or 21% of its scheduled services.
Among international airlines, China Eastern eliminated more than 500 flights or about a quarter of its total, while Air China canceled more than 200 flights, a fifth of its plans, according to FlightAware.
Some airlines they took steps to reduce cancellations. United offered to pay pilots triple or more their usual salary in exchange for taking over open flights until mid-January. Southwest and others have also increased premium payments for some workers.
Travelers who preferred or were able to travel by road also ran into problems. Transportation authorities in the north-central United States have warned motorists that a mix of rain and snow could make roads slippery and reduce visibility, leading to dangerous driving conditions.
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