More travel headaches as flight cancellations continue

BOSTON — Holiday travel headaches continued Sunday as thousands of flights were canceled worldwide.

FlightAware is reporting more than 3,000 flights canceled across the globe, including hundreds in the U.S. and dozens at Logan Airport.

“We got to the airport and they didn’t let us check-in, so we came to look at the board and it says canceled,” said Angelis Segura, of Salem. “It’s just disappointing.”

Segura and her family were supposed to fly to Florida Sunday morning for vacation. Their flight was one of the dozens of JetBlue flights canceled Sunday.

JetBlue, Delta, and United airlines have all said they are short-staffed due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, forcing them to cancel hundreds of flights each day. “Like many businesses and organizations, we have seen an increasing number of sick calls from Omicron,” JetBlue Airways Corporate Communications Manager Derek Dombrowski told Boston 25 News in a statement. “Despite our best efforts, we’ve had to cancel a number of flights, and additional flight cancellations and other delays remain a possibility as we see more Omicron community spread.”

Dombrowski said the airline is doing all it can to minimize the impact of these cancellations, including canceling flights that disrupt the fewest number of passengers, combining flights to the same destination, trimming schedules as much in advance as possible to give customers notice, and offering additional incentives to crewmembers who pick up additional shifts.

“We have joined other airlines and frontline organizations in calling on the CDC to shorten the isolation period for fully vaccinated people who test positive and recover as it has for healthcare workers, so people can safely return to work sooner,” Dombrowski said. “Swift and safe adjustments by the CDC would alleviate at least some of the staffing pressures and set up airlines to help millions of travelers returning from their holidays.”

People are encouraged to check with their airline before leaving home for the airport to ensure their flight is still on schedule.

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