Why are so many flights being canceled?

Tanya Baer, [email protected]

Right now, in the United States, there are a total of 2,890 flight cancelations and 4,058 flight delays. These numbers are rising every hour with more flights being canceled and delayed.

However, the people of Sweetwater County were not expecting flight delays or cancelations at the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport, but that is exactly what happened.

Last night, Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport posted two pictures of canceled flights on their Facebook page.

Many people were very confused about the dropped flights, so to further explain, Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport then posted a brief explanation on their Facebook page stating:

“We know that there are many frustrated passengers impacted by the recent cancellations caused by airline staffing issues across the country. We are just as frustrated. Making things worse is the lengthy hold times to speak with a reservations agent. Unfortunately, every airline is short-staffed in every department. The combination of an already reduced staff coupled with the emergence of the Omicron variant is having adverse impacts across the industry, impacting every airline and airport. The quickest and easiest way to deal with your impacted reservation is to use the United Airlines mobile app or go to www.united.com. You can rebook, seek reimbursement, or modify your reservations on both of these platforms. You can also come to the airport during the time that your flight is regularly scheduled to depart for in-person assistance from airline staff.”

When reached for comment, Devon Brubaker, regional director of Southwest Wyoming Region Airport said, “Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport had no control of what flights are canceled and that from the looks of it the rest of the flights are on schedule, and that there are currently no more cancelations or delays.”

When asked what had caused these specific SkyWest flights to be postponed, he then said, “The same as every airline right now. Many flights are being canceled due to staff shortages, mostly to blame on the recent Covid-19 surge, and also bad weather.”

United Airlines was contacted but has not yet responded about potential future cancelations and delays.

This week alone, thousands of flights have been canceled with every airline. By New Year’s Eve, SkyWest had already canceled 14% of their flights and delayed another 8%. More cancelations and delays have happened over the weekend, and flights are still being canceled today.

It is hard to say how many more flights will be called off or delayed but as the numbers continue to grow, many Americans are facing difficulties making travel plans.