Chaos in the skies: Omicron variant, bad weather delay hundreds of flights

At least 2,400 flights were canceled around the world on Monday, including about 880 flights in the U.S., as the nation’s travel woes extended into the post-Christmas workweek amid the rapid spread of the omicron variant.

There were also more than 6,500 flights delayed globally, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. That included 1,735 total delays of flights within, into or out of the U.S. 

At Detroit Metro Airport, the cancellations were all over the map - to New York, Louisville, and Memphis. John Crowley brought a family of 18 back from Hawaii but said it wasn't easy to get back home.

"We went through LAX. Flew family of 18 down to Hawaii. Coming back we were all separated. In the terminal in LAX, there was no food. It was very tough. The bathrooms were very dirty, crowded and on the way back, we lost family members that had to be diverted to different areas of the United States," he said.

He waited at the baggage claim for other family members to arrive. He said he's lost bags and a day of work as phones and apps to connect to the airlines haven't worked.

David Fishman from the Cadillac Travel group said, in almost 40 years, he's never seen anything like this before.

"I’ve seen it in different ways. I’ve seen it mostly because of weather-related situations," he said.

What to do before you fly

Fishman says before you fly, there are three things to do. 

  1. Check your information three days before the traveled time. 
  2. You should also contact the airline about the possibility of reimbursements - whether its in flyer miles or refunds.
  3. Get the flight insurance

If you do wind up being on a flight that gets canceled and you skipped the insurance, well, good luck.

"That’s going to be a fight with the airlines," Fishman said.

If that's you and you're fighting for a refund, Fishman advises that you be prepared to be an advocate for yourself.

Why flights are being canceled

The latest COVID-19 variant upended holiday plans for tens of thousands of travelers over the weekend. Airlines canceled hundreds more flights on Sunday, citing staffing problems tied to COVID-19. 

Delta, United and JetBlue had all said Friday that the omicron variant was causing staffing problems leading to flight cancellations. United spokesperson Maddie King said staffing shortages were still causing cancellations and it was unclear when normal operations would return.

"This was unexpected," she said of omicron's impact on staffing. 

According to FlightAware, the three airlines canceled more than 10% of their scheduled Saturday flights. American Airlines also canceled more than 90 flights Saturday, about 3% of its schedule, according to FlightAware. American spokesperson Derek Walls said the cancellations stemmed from "COVID-related sick calls." 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.