Between 24 December and 3 January, 59,240 flights were cancelled as airlines struggled with operational challenges around the Omicron surge and winter weather.

This resulted in the most December cancellations for the past decade – six times higher than in 2019 and two and half times more than 2020. In total, 20,500 flights were cancelled in the first three days of the new year alone.
 
Flight cancellations by the big four US airlines – American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines – increased to 7,040 over this period.

Jeremy Bowen, Cirium chief executive, said flight disruptions impact airlines and airports differently, as "it depends on the stand-by flexibility of equipment and resources in place to react quickly".
 
"Those that plan more conservatively will minimise their operational disruptions," he continued. "Cirium monitors the level of disruption by measuring completion factor of flights and their on-time performance.
 
“Cirium’s recent On-Time Performance Review shows how some airlines have focused on their operations to reduce the impact on passengers."