United and Delta airlines announced the cancelation of more than 200 flight on Christmas Eve as the carriers face crew shortages due to the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Reuters reports.
The two airlines also canceled dozens of flights Thursday as employees throughout the workforce started to call in sick after being diagnosed with COVID. While some passengers are stranded at airports, the airlines said they were announcing the cancelations as early as possible and they’re trying to contact passengers individual to help them make other arrangements.
“The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation. As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel some flights and are notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport,” United said.