Flight cancellations slow down as airlines handle workers shortage

• Around 870 flights to, from or within the U.S. were cancelled on Monday

• Airlines have been struggling with workers shortage as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly

Flight cancellations are starting to slow down as airlines cope with the winter storms and work around the workers shortage due to spike in Covid-19 cases.

According to a flight tracking site, FlightAware, 870 flights to, from or within the U.S. were cancelled on Monday. Recently, more than 1,000 flights were being cancelled daily.

Airlines have been struggling with workers shortage as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly. Several winter storms also created trouble as it snowed in Seattle, Washington, D.C., and the Northeast.

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Southwest Airlines has cancelled 14% of its flights from January 1 to January 9, according to FlightAware. The airline cancelled over 200 flights on Monday.

United Airlines Holdings Inc cancelled about 100 mainline flights on Monday due to the impact on its operation because of Omicron cases.

According to aviation data provider, Cirium, United Airlines reduced January flying plans by about 2.7%.

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Alaska Airlines said though the end of the month, it would reduce 10% of its daily flights while JetBlue Airways Corp said it will have to cancel almost 1,300 flights through mid-January.

Airlines have been cancelling flights for the rest of the month and for February and March as well to handle the operational issues caused due to worker shortage. The increasing Covid-19 cases due to Omicron spread and the disruptive weather has created troubles for airlines.

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