Not everyone made it home to their relatives on Christmas Eve around the world because of the omicron variant coronavirus.
More than 2,000 flights were canceled, according to data provided by the American company Flight Aware, which specializes in providing real-time data on flights.
In addition, 4,604 routes experienced delays globally.
According to Flight Aware, the US airlines with the most delays were United, with 9% of its flights canceled, and 3% delayed, as well as Delta, which had to cancel 6% of its itineraries, and 2% were delayed.
In a statement, a Delta spokesperson explained that the cancellations were produced by a “combination of problems” that include weather difficulties in some areas, as well as the impact of the omicron variant, which has made some workers have to stay at home.
United also said that omicron is having a “direct impact” on flight crews and other company personnel.
Behind the cancellations in the US, a fight is raging between the managers of the big airlines and the unions.
Last Thursday, the pressure group Airlines for America, which represents Delta, United, and American, among others, sent a letter to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rochelle Walensky, asking her to relax the guidelines regarding isolation periods that those who have been exposed to the virus must comply with.
Currently, the CDC advises a 10-day isolation, but Airlines for America wants it to be a maximum of five days.
In response, the union of flight attendants, known as AFA, also wrote Walensky a letter requesting that the ten days of isolation be maintained.
The omicron variant has caused an increase in infections around the world, and has caused some European countries, such as Germany, Portugal, and Finland, to re-impose restrictions on the leisure and restaurant sectors.
According to the CDC, this variant has already become the predominant one in the United States, since between December 12 and 18, it accounted for 73.2% of new cases.