New year brings more cancelled flights for air travellers

For air travellers, the new year picked up where the old one left off – with lots of frustration.

By midmorning Saturday on the East Coast, more than 2,300 US flights had been cancelled, according to tracking service FlightAware.

That is the highest single-day toll yet since just before Christmas, when airlines began blaming staffing shortages on increasing Covid-19 infections among crews.

More than 12,000 US flights have been cancelled since December 24.

Saturday’s disruptions weren’t just due to the virus, however.

Wintry weather made Chicago the worst place in the country for travellers, with 800 flights scrubbed at O’Hare Airport and more than 250 at Midway Airport.