As the week begins, there have been more Covid-related airline cancellations around the world, rounding off a horrible holiday season for thousands of individuals.
According to the FlightAware data tracking website, more than 1,400 flights were cancelled on Monday, with Chinese and US destinations taking the brunt of the losses.
Crews testing positive or isolating, as per the US airlines, is the cause of the trouble.
Following favourable cases among some arrivals, Hong Kong has imposed a two-week ban on all Korean Air flights.
Over 8,000 flights have been cancelled since the start of the long Christmas weekend on Friday.
Although the number of cancellations is a small percentage of the total, it is greater than usual, and it occurs at a time of year when many people travel to see family and friends.
In a related event, US authorities are keeping an eye on scores of cruise ships that have been affected by Covid cases while travelling in US seas, with several of them apparently being denied port in the Caribbean, according to the AFP news agency.
Covid instances are on the rise all across the world, thanks in large part to the Omicron form.
According to FlightAware, Chinese companies are responsible for the majority of the flights that were cancelled on Monday. China Eastern, which cancelled 368 flights, and Air China, which cancelled 141 flights, are among them.
Beijing and Shanghai airports appear to be the most hit, with nearly 300 cancellations between them. The Chinese government has been silent on the matter.
The airport in Xi’an, in northern China, is also on the list. Officials have lately ordered more than 13 million residents in the city to stay at home as authorities strive to contain a Covid epidemic.
Meanwhile, United Airlines, with 84 cancellations, and JetBlue, with 66, are the worst-affected US airlines.
Last week, United issued a statement saying that an increase in Omicron cases has “had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation,” with several staff being forced to self-isolate after coming into touch with sick individuals. In the United States, Omicron is presently the most common strain.
Severe weather, on the other hand, is a factor. On Sunday, a coating of snow in the western state of Washington delayed flights and hampered highways, adding to the travel misery.
According to FlightAware, British Airways had 42 cancellations for Monday in the UK. Heathrow Airport in London has 47 flights that have been cancelled.
According to Johns Hopkins University in the United States, coronavirus has killed about 5.4 million people globally. Nearly 280 million cases have been confirmed.