New Zealand Cancels 4k Flights over Christmas Weekend

By Staff, Agencies

New Zealanders celebrated Christmas on Saturday in the warmth of the southern midsummer with few restrictions, in one of the rare countries in the world largely untouched by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, commercial airlines around the world cancelled more than 4,500 flights over the Christmas weekend, as a mounting wave of COVID-19 infections driven by the Omicron variant created greater uncertainty and misery for holiday travelers.

According to Flightaware.com, at least 2,000 flights were cancelled worldwide on Christmas Day.

On Friday, there were around 2,400 cancellations and almost 11,000 delays. The site also reported over 600 cancellations for Sunday.

Pilots, flight attendants and other staff have been calling in sick or having to quarantine after exposure to COVID, forcing Lufthansa, Delta, United Airlines and many other carriers to cancel flights during one of the year’s peak travel periods.