HOUSTON, Texas -- The transportation industry had been bracing for pre-pandemic-level crowds this holiday season, but now two major U.S. airlines have been forced to proactively cancel hundreds of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day flights due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant of Covid-19. As of early Friday morning, United Airlines canceled at least 165 Friday flights and 46 others on Saturday, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. United added that it was "notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport," according to a company statement. The United disruptions had already impacted El Paso International Airport late Thursday as a United flight scheduled into El Paso from Houston was among those cancelled. Also early Friday, Delta Air Lines canceled at least 113 Christmas Eve flights and 49 more on Christmas Day, according to FlightAware.

Source: CNN December 24, 2021 12:54 UTC