More than 2000 flights were canceled prior to Christmas Eve. Operational snags at airlines are coming as millions are attempting to fly in spite of rising coronavirus cases. The TSA says it screened 2.19 million people at airports across the country on December 23, 2021, the highest figure since the uptick in holiday travel started a week ago.
Just last week executives from airlines were testifying in front of a congressional committee and said that being inside an airplane is one of the safest places to be. One of those executives was diagnosed with COVID-19 the next day. You have to admit this virus has a sense of humor.
Later Thursday night, Delta Air Lines also canceled flights. The airline has canceled 130 Christmas Eve flights, according to FlightAware. Delta said the cancellations are due to multiple issues including the Omicron variant. It has to be a bit of a sigma to be an airline that shares the name of one of the deadliest of the COVID variants.
In the blink of an eye Omicron now accounts for 75% of most COVID cases in America. We will all be exposes in short order. Each American has to chose for themselves what risk s are worth taking to celebrate the holiday season. Do I plan to attend a company Christmas party? No. Any plans for flying to visit family were abandoned weeks ago since not everyone in the family is vaccinated. If you judge by the long lines of people waiting for tests in New York City it is clear that what most people want for Christmas is a COVID test. President Joe Biden is planning to offer at home tests for free, but those will not be available until after this tsunami has blown through.
Merry Christmas folks. Stay safe.