Hundreds of flights canceled for Christmas Eve as Omicron wreaks havoc

Hundreds of flights have been canceled between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – with one airline blaming Omicron’s toll on staffing.

United Airlines canceled 168 flights Friday and another 47 on Saturday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.

“The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation,” a United Airlines spokesperson told The Post.

The company said they are reaching out to customers affected by the cancellations before they head to the airport.

Delta Air Lines is also facing cancellations on the same two days.

As of about 8:30 p.m., the airline has scrapped 115 flights on Christmas Eve — accounting for five percent of the day’s total trips, according to FlightAware.

On Christmas Day, Delta canceled 52 flights — or two percent of the trips that day, the site said. 

Weather is also factoring into the Delta cancellations, with winter storms impacting the Seattle and Salt Lake City area. 

“Delta teams have exhausted all options and resources — including rerouting and substitutions of aircraft and crews to cover scheduled flying — before canceling around 90 flights for Friday,” a spokesperson told The Post. 

“We apologize to our customers for the delay in their holiday travel plans. Delta people are working hard to get them to where they need to be as quickly and as safely as possible on the next available flight,” the spokesperson said. 

Leaders of the airline industry have been pushing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue updated guidance cutting the length of time for self-isolation for those infected with COVID-19, according to USA Today.