JetBlue Canceling 1,280 Flights As Omicron Cases Surge
(CBS/CNN) -- JetBlue Airways is reducing its schedule by about 1,280 flights from Thursday through January 13 because a growing number of crew members are falling sick from COVID-19 infections.
"We expect the number of COVID cases in the northeast -- where most of our crewmembers are based -- to continue to surge for the next week or two," a JetBlue spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters. "This means there is a high likelihood of additional cancellations until case counts start to come down."
The 1,280 flights amount to about 10% of JetBlue's schedule.
Out of the 65 total cancellations FlightAware reported at Boston's Logan Airport Thursday morning, 47 of them were JetBlue flights.
Airlines have been canceling hundreds of flights every day in the United States since Christmas Eve as they grapple with staff shortages due to COVID infections and bad weather in parts of the country. JetBlue is based in New York, which recorded new record high of 67,000 positive cases on Tuesday.
More than 1,000 flights have been canceled within, into, or out of the US as of Thursday, according to FlightAware. JetBlue canceled 17% of its flights Thursday with another 4% flights delayed.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. CNN's Jordan Valinsky contributed to this report.)
