JetBlue cuts 1,280 flights through middle of JANUARY as pilots and crew call out sick with COVID: At least 1,070 flights into and out of America are canceled and 1,564 are delayed today – as airline phone lines jam and passengers get stuck on tarmac
- Staffing shortages caused by Omicron infections have led to 1.071 cancelations and 1,564 delays so far on Thursday – the seventh day of the ongoing flight nightmare for Americans trying to get away or get home over the holidays
- Passengers took to social media to vent their fury at being forced to wait for hours on the tarmac before having to deplane because their flight was eventually canceled
- Others said airlines’ phone lines were so jammed that wait times were as long as 102 minutes
- It came as JetBlue announced they were cutting more than 1,280 flights from December 30 through January 13 in order to deal with staff shortages due to COVID-19
- The U.S. has hit a record number of COVID infections. A seven-day average of cases nationwide currently sits at 300,387 – the highest of the pandemic so far
The travel nightmare will continue into mid-January as airline staff call out sick with COVID.
At least U.S. 1,071 flights are canceled and 1,564 are delayed today as travel chaos drags into a seventh day, according to tracking website FlightAware, and JetBlue announced is has already cut 1,280 flights between December 30 and January 13 because of the coronavirus.
Staffing shortages caused by COVID infections led United Airline to cancel 190 flights on Thursday while Atlanta-based Delta said it canceled 86, and JetBlue reported 175 nixed flights.
Some passengers vented their fury on social media saying they were forced to wait on the tarmac for hours before being told to deplane. Others said the wait time at call centers was as long as 102 minutes as phone lines jammed.
The U.S. has hit a record number of COVID infections. A seven-day average of cases nationwide currently sits at 300,387, the highest of the pandemic so far, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. New data shows 489,267 new cases recorded yesterday – 15,057 of which were caused by the mutant omicron variant.
As a result of rising coronavirus infections among staff, JetBlue also announced it was cutting more than 1,280 flights, or 10 percent of its daily schedule, from December 30 through January 13 in order ‘to get even further ahead of the expected increase in Omicron cases,’ CNBC reported.
‘This past week has been one of our most difficult operating periods during the pandemic,’ three JetBlue department leaders wrote Tuesday in a note to staff. ‘The exponential growth in Omicron cases over just a couple of days is at a level that no one could reasonably prepare for.’
The flight cuts is yet another blow to U.S carriers whose 2020 net losses after the pandemic were in the billions, according to analyst estimates provided by the software company FactSet.
Airlines are still projected to have lost more than $200 billion through next year.
The chaos kickstarted over the holiday weekend after more than 7,300 flights were impacted Sunday, and 4,000 flights were canceled or delayed on Christmas Day, frustrating travelers.
More cancellations are expected during the day as airlines scramble to deal with the surge of COVID cases.
On Thursday, seven days into the holiday travel week, people were still on social media sharing their nightmare travel stories.
‘JetBlue just absolutely making my life hell right now,’ one person tweeted Thursday morning.
Others complained about long delays and mismanagement of flights.
‘Been sitting in line for the Delta help desk at SeaTac for the past 3 hours rapidly approaching 24 hours awake because of this mismanaged flight,’ an angry customer tweeted.
Someone else tweeted: ‘Delta pretty sure I just caught covid sitting on the tarmac for 2.5 hours at LAX waiting to deplane flight #0458. How is it that there were no other gates available for 2.5 hours?’
‘Thank you United for delaying my flight two hours, having us board, then spending 3 more hours before cancelling it. Love being sent back into the airport at 4:30 am and being told there is no update until 6!’ another unlucky traveler tweeted.
A traveler looks at a flight status board at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles on Tuesday
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