According to Jonathan Vigliotti, twice as many people traveled this Christmas than last year. Many people arrived at their homes after being affected by COVID. Some people were unable to get home; others had to travel long distances due to last-minute flight changes and infections.
According to FlightAware.com, over 3,000 flights were cancelled across the U.S. between Friday and Sunday.
Rohit Tejwani didn’t intend to spend Christmas Eve in an airport hotel alone. He said that he felt “deflated and dispirited”. Midway through my first flight, I received a notification saying that my connecting flight had been canceled and that no other flights were available for that day. The next earliest flight would be in the afternoon. This meant that I would miss Christmas Eve and Christmas at home.
Tejwani was informed that his flight was cancelled due to COVID-related crew shortages. He said that it was frustrating that the pandemic continues to affect his life in so many ways even two years later.
United Airlines stated that the nationwide increase in Omicron cases during this week had an impact on their flight crews as well as those who manage our operation.
Henry Harteveldt is a travel industry analyst. He said that Omicron was the Grinch who stole Christmas from airline passengers. Without the necessary number of flight attendants and pilots, airlines can’t fly. Safety is the most important thing.
Several airlines have now called on the CDC for an update to its COVID guidance. They also want to reduce the quarantine isolation time from ten to five days for those with breakthrough cases.
Harteveldt stated that the government had approved Harteveldt’s request for healthcare industry. “It’s fair to say that it’s sufficient for hospital workers, nurses, and doctors. I believe it should also be sufficient for the airline industry.”
This wasn’t just trouble for the skies. COVID disruptions are also affecting the cruise ship industry. In the past week, three cruise lines experienced outbreaks. Hundreds of passengers were forced to quarantine after testing positive.
Tom Robinson, a Carnival Cruise passenger, stated that he had to be fully immunized and had to have a negative blood test two days prior to board the ship. They could have done more before you boarded the ship, I don’t think.
Harteveldt stated that it is the best thing to do when you travel this week, especially if you are flying, to sign up to text alerts in order to be notified immediately if any disruptions occur to your travel plans.
