The last day of the year-end travel rush is shaping up to be every day as Good night for airline passengers: chaotic.
Airlines have already canceled more than 1,700 Sunday flights across the country and in and out of the United States, according to the flight tracker. Reported flight. That is in addition to more than 2,700 flight cancellations on Saturdays, bringing the total since Christmas Eve to more than 14,000 canceled flights.
Blame Sunday’s disaster on winter weather at key airline hubs, including Chicago and Denver, and, at some airlines, the continuing shortage of flight crew due to an increase in calls for COVID illness such as omicron spreads.More than 500 of Sunday’s flight cancellations are flights to and from Chicago and nearly 200 are flights to and from Denver.
The airlines with the most cancellations as of 1 a. M. ET:
►SkyWest Airlines, which operates regional flights for United, Delta, American and Alaska under the names of those airlines: 416 flights, or 17% of scheduled flights. Other regional connecting airlines, including Mesa Airlines, Envoy Air and Air Wisconsin, are also canceling dozens of Sunday flights. Mesa, which flies as American Eagle and United Express, canceled 18% of its flights and Air Wisconsin, which flies as United Express, canceled 16% of its flights.
► Southwest Airlines: 226 flights, or 6%. That is in addition to the 474 flights canceled on Saturday, or 13%. Southwest suspended operations in Chicago on Saturday afternoon due to a snowstorm and it will take time to get operations back on track, so those numbers are likely to rise.
►Delta Air Lines: 158 flights, or 6%. Delta was one of the first to sound the alarms about the impact on staffing of the latest wave of coronavirus, and its CEO called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce isolation time for patients. they tested positive for 10 to five days. The CDC changed the recommendations right after Christmas.
►JetBlue Airways: 154 flights, or 15%. The New York-based airline announced plans earlier this week to proactively cancel nearly 1,300 flights through mid-January due to personnel problems. The airline warned that the number could grow “until the case count begins to decline.”
►American Airlines: 132 flights, or 4%.
My flight was canceled, what’s next?
More than ever, travelers returning home on Sunday should check their flight status before heading to the airport.
Airlines generally rebook travelers on the next available flight, but on some airlines, including the Allegiant Discount Store, it’s not always the next day. The Las Vegas-based airline does not operate its routes every day. I canceled more than a quarter of their flights on Saturday and 22% on New Years Eve.
Travelers who don’t like the rebooking option should contact the airline for other options, but should be prepared with other flight times and routes.
Don’t you want to take the flight? Travelers whose flights are canceled by the airline are eligible for a refund, not just a future travel credit, regardless of the type of ticket purchased or the cause of the cancellation, depending on Rules of the US Department of Transportation.
Do your homework: What do airlines owe you when flights are canceled or delayed?
Please hold: “The current wait time is 2 hours and 43 minutes”
feeds.feedblitz.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism