More than 2,000 flights canceled worldwide due to Micron-International expansion

Airlines have canceled more than 2,000 flights around the world, 25% of them in the United States, due to the variable micron expansion of COVID-19.

According to the Flightaware website, as of 12:40 pm (Brazil time) on Friday (24), at least 2,116 flights were canceled. Of that total, 499 are US-related, including international and domestic flights.

According to the same source, the number of cancellations as of Thursday reached 2,231.

Most of the flights were scheduled ahead of the Micron outbreak, a variant that is spreading at high speed and more contagious than its predecessors.

Several companies interviewed by AFP cited the new wave of the pandemic as the cause, which is particularly affecting crews.

According to Flightaware, United Airlines had to cancel more than 170 flights on Friday, equal to 9% of scheduled flights.

“The surge in micron cases across the country this week has had a direct impact on our crews and the people running our operations,” the company, which said it was working on solutions for affected travelers, said.

Delta Air Lines canceled 145 flights, according to Flightaware, due to microns and, to a lesser extent, bad weather conditions.

The airline noted that “Delta teams exhausted all options and solutions” before reaching these cancellations.

More than a dozen Alaska Airlines flights have been canceled after some of its employees reported “possible exposure to the virus” and had to self-isolate.

According to estimates by the American Automobile Association (AAA), more than 109 million Americans are expected to leave their immediate area by plane, train or car between December 23 and January 2, a 34% increase from last year.