Omicron surge: 3,000 flights cancelled worldwide; 11,500 delayed

Amid the global surge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, almost 3,000 flights have been cancelled and more than 11,500 flights have been delayed worldwide on Tuesday.

A total of 2,969 flight cancellations and 11,512 flight delays worldwide on Tuesday, with 1,172 of the cancellations and 5,458 of the delays occurring within, into, or out of the US, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.

Earlier on Monday, Flightradar24 data showed that 12,528 delayed flights and 2,959 cancelled flights were reported with airlines and airports in the US, accounting for nearly half of all delays and cancellations worldwide.

Similarly, air travellers in the United States continued to face flight disruptions, with 2,513 flights cancelled on Sunday and 2,850 on Saturday due to staff members calling in sick.

Amid the Holidays celebrations during the Christmas weekend, the US on Tuesday set a single-day record of new COVID-19 infections, with 441,278 new cases.

The seven-day moving average is now more than 240,000 COVID-19 cases a day, The Hill reported.

This average of daily new cases reached 122,297, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).