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900 Flights Cancelled Due to Omicron?? Why???
900 Flights Cancelled Due to Omicron??? Why?? As the South African doctor who discovered it said (and as evidence from Israel, the UK, etc. show), Omicron is mild.
Why are so many flights being cancelled, then???? |
Due to processes in place that require anyone who tests positive to quarrantine for 10 days and then have a negative test.
This is why the airline industry is petitioning to reduce the 10-day period. The medical community just got an exemption to reduce that period. |
Originally Posted by John Anderson L.
(Post 33843071)
900 Flights Cancelled Due to Omicron??? Why?? As the South African doctor who discovered it said (and as evidence from Israel, the UK, etc. show), Omicron is mild.
Why are so many flights being cancelled, then????
Originally Posted by wharvey
(Post 33843083)
Due to processes in place that require anyone who tests positive to quarrantine for 10 days and then have a negative test.
This is why the airline industry is petitioning to reduce the 10-day period. The medical community just got an exemption to reduce that period.
Originally Posted by clubord
(Post 33840451)
Here’s my experience which many of my fellow crew members fell into this week as this variant flared up.
There is required testing for numerous international flights prior to departure (which most likely explains why DL and UA are affected the most.) I tested COVID positive with absolutely no symptoms three hours before departure. Subsequently got pulled off the trip and was told to quarantine and stay away for a minimum of 10 days. A reserve pilot was called to fill my spot on 764 trip. Most of our reserves got their days off rolled to cover the holidays but are now subject to mandated rest requirements which are now falling on 24-28th of this month. Looking at open time this morning, I’ve never seen so many trips at 200% in my 15+ years at the airline. There’s just no one available to fly these trips considering such a large segment of the crew population is a pumpkin for at least 10 days. I’m sorry to all those passengers stranded because of the cancellations. I’m also sorry to my fellow crew members that are quarantined and missing Christmas with their families.
Originally Posted by LarryJ
(Post 33840518)
As ClubORD said, the required pre-testing for a long list of international destinations is likely hitting us, and Delta, harder than AA, B6, etc. when asymptomatic crewmembers test positive.
Also, it's not just positive tests. We are required to report any COVID-like symptoms (fever, cough, congestion, fatigue, etc.) and that report will ground us for at least ten days even if we subsequently test negative. I think a negative test followed by a doctor's report that you are COVID free can get you back to work sooner but the process still takes a few days. December always brings more colds and flu and Thanksgiving gatherings likely increased the rate of spread of COVID and non-COVID illnesses. Now Omicron is spreading even quickly than previous strains. I've reported symptoms twice, though have never had COVID, and was grounded for 10 days each time. The first time was during my requalification training, so I didn't miss any trips. The second was a cold that resulted in me missing a four-day trip but the cold symptoms alone would have kept me from flying that trip even if there were no COVID restrictions. |
Originally Posted by wharvey
(Post 33843083)
Due to processes in place that require anyone who tests positive to quarrantine for 10 days and then have a negative test.
This is why the airline industry is petitioning to reduce the 10-day period. The medical community just got an exemption to reduce that period. |
Originally Posted by John Anderson L.
(Post 33843071)
900 Flights Cancelled Due to Omicron??? Why?? As the South African doctor who discovered it said (and as evidence from Israel, the UK, etc. show), Omicron is mild.
Why are so many flights being cancelled, then???? |
Originally Posted by John Anderson L.
(Post 33843071)
900 Flights Cancelled Due to Omicron??? Why?? As the South African doctor who discovered it said (and as evidence from Israel, the UK, etc. show), Omicron is mild.
Why are so many flights being cancelled, then???? |
Moderator Note: Please follow the thread as it moves to the Corona Virus forum.
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Originally Posted by Cryofern
(Post 33844417)
Can you be a bit more specific here?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59793040 Tens of thousands of airline passengers have been hit by the grounding of thousands of flights as a surge in Covid cases causes staff shortages. More than 7,500 flights have now been cancelled since Friday and over the Christmas weekend, according to the FlightAware data tracking website. Chinese and US airlines appear to be the hardest hit, with further delays and cancellations announced for Monday. Companies say the cancellations are due to airline crews testing positive. Staff who have not tested positive but have been in contact with those infected are then being forced to self-isolate. |
Originally Posted by Repooc17
(Post 33844815)
Wat?
Are you saying virus attacks differently in the US than in other countries? The point being is that the variant appears to be mild for those who have been vaccinated or previously contracted COVID. There is little data on those who have contracted the variant but have not been vaccinated or previously contracted COVID. |
Originally Posted by Loren Pechtel
(Post 33843312)
It makes sense for the medical community--they'll be wearing properly-fit N95s and a hospital is far more essential than an airplane. The hospitals are already being pushed to far below normal safe staffing levels.
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Originally Posted by FlyingUnderTheRadar
(Post 33845104)
Re-read my post. Then read this lay article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...h-africa-mild/
The point being is that the variant appears to be mild for those who have been vaccinated or previously contracted COVID. There is little data on those who have contracted the variant but have not been vaccinated or previously contracted COVID. As far as I understand the main reasons for a large number of flight cancellations are staff shortages due to the spread of Coronavirus and winter weather conditions in some parts of the US. More than 5,000 flights have been canceled worldwide this Christmas weekend [NPR] /mod hat on Whether the Omicron variant is mild or not is off-topic for this thread. /mod hat offf |
I'm wondering how long will it take until quarantines upon positive test are removed. I originally expected that to only happen after COVID becomes endemic, but it's getting unsustainable at the moment. UK will soon have a million people in quarantine at a time (they are currently at 120k+ infections per day) even though most of them are fine and ready to work.
I think the moment when only ill people are going to stay at home, just like with other respiratory viruses, may be closer than I expected. I have just completed my 7 days isolation yesterday and it's been a bit of a joke. There was only one evening when I actually needed to be in bed, then maybe 2 or 3 days when I had some symptoms but was fully functional otherwise. This was the second time I had COVID and having to stay at home was the only really bad part of the experience in both cases.
Originally Posted by NewbieRunner
(Post 33845343)
Another factor pointed out by WaPo and other sources is the relatively young population of South Africa where the median age is 28 which is a full decade lower than that in the US.
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Originally Posted by John Anderson L.
(Post 33843071)
900 Flights Cancelled Due to Omicron??? Why?? As the South African doctor who discovered it said (and as evidence from Israel, the UK, etc. show), Omicron is mild.
Why are so many flights being cancelled, then???? |
I must’ve missed the memo where airline staff are immune from catching this extremely infectious variant in a time when the booster shots aren’t yet widely distributed
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My understanding is that at the airlines any time any crew member gets a sniffle, protocol demands they be tested and then prevented from working for 10 days (now changed to 5) if positive, even if asymptomatic. To me this says that some -- maybe even most -- of the current issue is imposed on the airlines by external forces.
Interesting that the FA unions opposed that recent change from 10 days to 5. The culture that signifies may or may not have any practical impact on the current situation... I'll leave it at that. |
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