Airlines canceled more than 750 of the day’s flights in the United States by Wednesday morning, a sign of continuing stress as the industry tries to emerge from a days-long meltdown ahead of the New Year’s holiday weekend.
The problems began to mount the day before Christmas as air carriers contended with staffing shortages driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus, as well as foul winter weather. Cancellations peaked on Sunday, when more than 1,500 flights into, out of or within the United States — more than 6 percent of scheduled flights — were scrubbed, according to FlightAware.
On Tuesday, airlines canceled nearly 1,300 flights, led by United Airlines, which grounded about 6 percent of its trips, and Delta Air Lines, which canceled 4 percent of its schedule.
The cancellations come during one of the busiest times for air travel and as the industry hopes to resume profitability after two brutal years for…
