WestJet cancels 15% of flights amid Omicron COVID-19 staff shortage

Westjet is consolidating approximately 15 per cent of scheduled flights through to Jan. 31, 2022 due to the accelerating impact of Omicron.

WestJet Airlines says it is being forced to cut 15 per cent of its flights through to the end of January as it deals with staffing shortages due to the Omicron variant.

The Calgary-based airline says it has seen a 35 per cent increase in active cases among staff in recent days, with 181 WestJet employees currently affected by COVID-19.

WestJet says it has seen a significant increase in flight delays and cancellations over the past 72 hours.

It says it can no longer predictably staff its scheduled flights.

WestJet says guests whose flights are cancelled or rescheduled by the airline will be eligible for a refund. Guests with impacted flights will be notified by the airline.

The announcement comes as more than 850 flights were cancelled in the U.S. on Wednesday, according to data from the flight-tracking website FlightAware. There were nearly 1,300 cancellations for flights entering, leaving or inside the U.S. Tuesday, and about 1,500 on Monday.

Cancellations began to spike the day before Christmas during what is already a buzzing pace for airlines this time of year.

Delta, United and JetBlue have all said that the Omicron variant was causing enough staffing issues that flights were cancelled.