Passengers line up at John F. Kennedy International Airport after airlines announced numerous flights were cancelled on Christmas Eve. Photo: ReutersCommercial airlines around the world have cancelled more than 4000 flights over the Christmas weekend, as a mounting wave of Covid-19 infections driven by the Omicron variant created greater uncertainty and misery for holiday travellers. The website showed that another 1404 Christmas Day flights were called off worldwide, along with 340 more that had been scheduled for Sunday. Among the first US carriers to report a wave of holiday weekend cancellations were United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, which scrubbed nearly 280 flights combined on Friday alone, citing personnel shortages amid the surge of Covid-19 infections. The Biden administration will next week lift travel restrictions on eight southern African countries imposed last month over concerns about the Omicron variant, the White House said.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 24, 2021 22:47 UTC