For air travellers, the new year picked up where the old one left off – with lots of frustration. By midmorning, Saturday on the East Coast, more than 2,300 U.S. flights had been cancelled, according to tracking service FlightAware.
That's the highest single-day toll yet since airlines began blaming staffing shortages on increasing COVID-19 infections among crews just before Christmas.
Saturday's disruptions weren't just due to the virus, however. Wintry weather made Chicago the worst place in the country for travellers, with 800 flights scrubbed at O'Hare Airport and more than 250 at Midway Airport.
Southwest had cancelled more than 450 flights or 13% of its schedule. SkyWest, which operates flights as American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express, grounded more than 400 flights, or 21% of its schedule. American, Delta, United and JetBlue all scrubbed more than 100 flights each.
