Sat | Jan 24, 2026

More than 4,100 flights cancelled worldwide due to storms, virus

Published:Monday | January 3, 2022 | 9:56 AM
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, air travellers wear masks and are separated by plexiglass as they make their way through security at Love Field in Dallas, Friday, December 31, 2021. Flight cancellations surged again on the last day of 2021, with airlines blaming it on crew shortages related to the spike in COVID-19 infections. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island — Wintry weather combined with the pandemic frustrated air travellers whose return flights home from the holidays were cancelled or delayed in the first days of the new year.

More than 2,500 US flights and more than 4,100 worldwide were grounded Sunday, according to tracking service FlightAware.

That followed Saturday's mass cancellations of more than 2,700 US flights and more than 4,700 worldwide.

Saturday's single-day US toll was the highest since just before Christmas when airlines began blaming staffing shortages on increasing COVID-19 infections among crews.

A winter storm that hit the Midwest on Saturday made Chicago the worst place in the country for travellers throughout the weekend as the region's airports continued to recover Sunday morning.

About a quarter of all flights at O'Hare Airport were cancelled Sunday.

American Airlines said most of Sunday's cancelled flights had been cancelled ahead of time to avoid last-minute disruptions at the airport.

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