Airlines cancelled 1,134 U.S. flights the day after Christmas, according to flight tracker FlightAware, marking the third straight day that air travel has been disrupted by staff shortages amid an increase in coronavirus infections and snowy weather on the West Coast at one of the busiest times of the year for the airline industry.
A total of 2,821 flights have so far been canceled over the Christmas weekend within the U.S. or arriving or departing from it.
Seattle-Tacoma was the airport most affected Sunday, with 179 canceled flights, accounting for 17% of the total, and 246 delayed on Sunday afternoon amid a surge of new coronavirus infections in the surrounding area, along with snow and icy conditions.
Delta grounded 155 flights on Sunday, the most of any U.S. carrier, accounting for 5% of its total flights, followed by Jet Blue with 113 cancellations (11% of all the airline’s flights) and United with 112 cancellations, or 5% of its total flights.
Worldwide, 2,780 flights were cancelled and 12,196 were delayed by Sunday afternoon, according to FlightAware.
