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The hysterical reaction to the Omicron variant has overwhelmed America just in time for Christmas with many holiday travelers now facing the prospect of being stranded in airports as major carriers are canceling flights on one of the busiest days of the year.
Both Delta and United Airlines have announced that they have been forced to preemptively cancel the flights due to staffing shortages related to the virus, a major headache for those who had made their holiday plans before the Thanksgiving weekend announcement that the highly contagious COVID strain had been discovered in South Africa, spawning weeks of media fearmongering that has led to shutdowns and disruptions.
On Thursday, Fox Business identified “21 instances where United Airlines cancellations on Christmas Eve are directly attributed to the coronavirus, stating that staffing issues have caused the cancellation.”
“For a flight from Denver to Newark scheduled for Friday, for example, the following message is shown on the United Airlines website: “Your flight is canceled due to an increase in Covid cases limiting crew availability. We’re sorry for disrupting your holiday plans and for the inconvenience,” the network reported.
According to FlightAware which provides real-time tracking of global airline traffic information, United has called off 169 Christmas Eve flights with Delta canceling 127 as of Friday morning.
(Image: FlightAware)
The website also shows that Delta has canceled 90 Christmas Day flights as of Friday morning, with United cancelling 52.
(Image: FlightAware)
United Airlines confirmed the bad news in a statement to Fox Business.
“The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation. As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel some flights and are notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport. We’re sorry for the disruption and are working hard to rebook as many people as possible and get them on their way for the holidays,” an airline spokesperson told the outlet.
Delta Airlines issued a statement on Thursday evening, acknowledging that the flights had been cancelled and apologizing to customers.
JUST IN: Delta Air Lines has cancelled 82 flights for Friday citing Omicron and weather issues. pic.twitter.com/6Q0BxIenrK
— Sam Sweeney (@SweeneyABC) December 24, 2021
Twitter reacted to the cheerless holiday news, yet another lump of coal in Americans’ stockings as a result of the Biden administration’s failure to deliver on campaign promises to get COVID under control and restore the nation to normalcy.
Everything catches this admin by surprise. They didn't need to push BBB or anything else. They needed to shut the virus down. Now flights are cancelled. There are no home tests and starting to hit a mask shortage. Just a complete catastrophe of incompetence. https://t.co/XpI9Jjg76z
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) December 24, 2021
United Airlines just abruptly cancelled 120 flights for tomorrow, Christmas Eve.
They say it’s due to the spike of (+) cases w their flight crews in the past week. 99% of their employees are vaaxed.Maybe firing their pilots & over 600 crew for not being 💉 suckzz now?
— 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) December 24, 2021
Cafe’s and Restaurant’s closing. Flights cancelled. Reduced traffic in Shopping Malls. Employees getting sick everywhere! How is the good for the economy. “Living with Covid”?
— Bestbuds (@sandyg_co) December 24, 2021
Some blamed the mess on the unvaccinated.
Got back yesterday from visiting my family. It's the first time I've gotten to see them in 2 full years. Hundreds of flights were cancelled today due to Omicron. We were very fortunate. The virus isn't the enemy, it's other Americans who defiantly refuse to do the right thing.
— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) December 24, 2021
Delta and United Airlines just cancelled hundreds of flights on Christmas Eve due to Omicron
It’s sheer insanity that the unvaccinated are still allowed to fly and unvaxxed crew are still allowed to work
Requiring a jab to fly is a no brainer. Flying is a privilege, not a right
— Lindy Li (@lindyli) December 24, 2021
I'm just over here, still waiting for that Executive Order that requires 2+ vaccine doses for anyone passing through a TSA checkpoint
If it ever comes, let's hope it says: "effective immediately" and not some pointless date three months from now https://t.co/xn9xvhC7x0
— Jorge A. Caballero, MD (@DataDrivenMD) December 24, 2021
So much for a Merry Christmas and with Biden’s pre-holiday message of a “winter of death” it isn’t looking like it’s going to be a Happy New Year either.
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Chris Donaldson is an ordinary American who is concerned about rampant corruption as well as the ongoing attacks on our way of life by those who have contempt for our hard-earned freedoms. A Navy veteran, he has been a frequent contributor to conservative websites and resides in Florida.
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