Public Health

JetBlue is cutting hundreds of flights through mid-January and is expecting more Omicron disease calls

JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 passenger plane lands at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

Nik Oiko | LightRakete | Getty Images

JetBlue Airways cancels more than 1,280 flights from Thursday to mid-January in anticipation of further Covid-19 infections among pilots and flight attendants.

New York-based JetBlue and other airlines including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines have canceled more than 4,000 flights since Christmas Eve as they struggled with inclement weather and a surge in crew sick leave.

“Last week was one of our toughest operating periods during the pandemic,” three JetBlue department heads wrote on Tuesday in a notice to employees that was viewed by CNBC. “The exponential growth in Omicron cases within a few days is at a level for which no one could properly prepare.”

They said the airline will be canceling flights “in order to be ahead of the expected increase in Omicron cases”. The planned flight cuts are a little under 10% of JetBlue’s daily flight schedules.

JetBlue canceled 173 flights, or 17% of its flight schedule, on Thursday, while more than 1,000 flights have been canceled nationwide, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. United Airlines has now canceled 188 flights, or 8% of its main flight schedule, while regional airline SkyWest has lost 144, or 6%. Seattle-based Alaska Airlines has canceled 95 flights, 14% of scheduled flights.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday reduced their recommended isolation time from 10 to five days for people who tested positive for Covid but are asymptomatic.

JetBlue had followed Delta last week in urging the CDC to cut its guidelines for isolating groundbreaking Covid cases in half to five days, warning of staff shortages and flight disruptions as Omicron spread rapidly. Other airlines followed suit.

JetBlue updated its vacation policy following the CDC’s announcement to allow employees to return to work if they are symptom-free after five days.

JetBlue supervisors said on the staff note that they hope the new guidelines would help bring staff back faster, but added, “We know the Omicron cases in the northeast are still at their peak (and they haven’t.) for at least another week or.). 2) where the vast majority of our crew members are based. “

The Association of Flight Attendants, the largest U.S. flight attendants union, had urged the CDC against the change, stating that it would require stricter protocols like a negative test to return to work and 10 days of isolation for unvaccinated workers who test positive .

“We believe this is the wrong step for aviation as it accepts that infectious people will be put back in their jobs or as passengers on our aircraft,” AFA International President Sara Nelson wrote to the CEOs on Wednesday of the airlines. “While our union has not and has not supported the updated guidelines, we stand ready to work with airlines to implement the new rules in a way that protects workers and provides clarity and confidence to our passengers.”

Related Articles