Global airline carriers cancelled more than 3,000 flights over Christmas, the FlightAware website said, as a spike in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant piled on misery for travellers.
The website showed that 2,175 flights around the world had been scrapped yesterday, which is Christmas Eve and a typically heavy day for travel. Around a quarter of those flights were in the US.
Another 1,259 Christmas Day flights were called off globally, the website said amid a surge in Covid-19 infections driven by Omicron.
In Britain, many industries and transport networks were struggling with staff shortages as sick workers self-isolated, while hospitals have warned of the risk of an impact on patient safety.
One in 20 Londoners had Covid-19 last week and that could have risen to one in 10 by the start of this week, according to statistics released by the Office for National Statistics.
Britain recorded a record number of new coronavirus cases as the Omicron variant swept across the country.
In the US, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines both cancelled dozens of Christmas Eve flights because of staff shortages amid the surge in infections.
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