String of flight cancellations continues at Las Vegas airport

Another round of flight cancellations hit Harry Reid International Airport Thursday, as the omicron variant creates havoc both for travelers and for airlines that are having to cobble together flight crews.

Thursday saw 65 canceled flights at Reid, according to spokesman Joe Rajchel. Impacted airlines include Allegiant Air, Delta Air Lines, Spirit Airlines, WestJet Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Volaris.

The cancellations at Las Vegas’ airport were part of 1,250 nationwide, according to data from the flight-tracking website FlightAware.

Las Vegas’ hometown carrier Allegiant had the most cancellations at Reid with 13, representing 17 percent of its flights into or out of the airport.

Delta had the second most cancellations Thursday at Reid with 12 followed by Spirit with 10, according to FlightAware.

On top of the cancellations there were 270 flights into or out of Reid delayed on Thursday.

Cancellations began to spike the day before Christmas and have continued throughout this week. Since Sunday, more than 240 flights into or out of Reid airport have been canceled.

Allegiant spokeswoman Hilarie Grey and other airline officials have attributed the cancellations over the past week to winter weather and staffing issues tied to the omicron COVID-19 variant.

“The ongoing impact of these factors is not something we can predict, but we do anticipate additional delays and cancellations this week,” Grey said.

Omicron has intensified already significant staffing issues for airlines, which winnowed workforces in 2020 as air travel collapsed, only to be broadsided when vaccination rates jumped and millions of people felt comfortable flying again this year.

That could translate to travel headaches for hundreds of thousands of people if cancellations maintain the current pace into the weekend. The Transportation Security Administration expects the Monday after New Year’s will be one of the busiest days of the holiday season.

According to TSA checkpoint data, the numbers of people flying this holiday season far exceeds last year — before COVID-19 vaccinations were available — but still trails 2019 traveler numbers.

Anyone with planned flights in the near future is urged to arrive at the airport prepared. Reid airport officials recommend that travelers check the status of the flight before heading to the airport.

Travelers also should be prepared for potential delays by bringing items on hand such as snacks, childcare essentials and medication with them to the airport.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this report.