TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Thousands of flight cancellations and delays are extending holiday travel for people around the United States on Sunday and Monday.
Flight boards filled with delayed and cancelled flights had many passengers spending the night in the lobby at Tampa International Airport.
“Today it’s like everything is postponed,” passenger Julius Daves told 8 On Your Side.
Daves said he arrived in Tampa Bay seven hours after his scheduled arrival time. He is among the millions who kicked off the new year with the same old flight issues.
“I’ve got guys coming in, we’re starting a job tomorrow, they’re following me. American, United, everyone is either cancelling or delaying flights,” he said.
The problems capped off a holiday season with plenty of travel woes. The Omicron variant has had a big impact on airline staffing over the past couple weeks.
“There’s not enough people. There’s only a certain amount of people to go around and it’s just trickling down,” said Daves.
Members of the Flight Attendant’s Union said they’re upset with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for dropping the COVID-19 quarantine mandate from 10 days to 5 days.
Airlines are also having issues with the weather, with a number of states under winter weather alerts Sunday and Monday.
As of Monday morning more than 1,700 flights were cancelled and 526 were delayed, according to Flightaware.com. The website showed at least 41 cancellations and 21 delays on Monday morning.
You can check the latest flight cancellations and delays on the FlightAware website.
Flying in and out of Tampa? You can check your flight status on the Tampa International Airport’s website.