Travel in the omicron surge: What airlines owe you if they cancel your flight

Travel in 2021 ended on a stressful note for thousands thanks to omicron. The fast-spreading coronavirus variant has driven up infection rates around the world, including among airline staff.

U.S. airlines have canceled more than 10,000 flights over the year-end holiday period as the variant sidelined pilots and flight attendants and bad weather hit hubs such as Seattle and Atlanta. Thousands more flights were delayed.

It’s a small percentage of overall schedules — about 5%, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware — but it has disrupted the plans of tens of thousands of travelers during what airline executives had forecast to be the busiest time since the pandemic began. Since Dec. 23, more than 15.6 million people have passed through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints at airports, almost double the number a year ago.

Unlike the meltdowns at Spirit, American and Southwest in the summer and fall, the recent spate of disruptions is spread among several airlines, including Delta, United, JetBlue, Alaska and SkyWest.

Here’s what to know:

“You can always get your money back if they can’t accommodate you, but it doesn’t get you home,” said Brett Snyder, who runs a travel concierge service and the Cranky Flier travel website.

The DOT also says travelers are owed refunds if their flight is significantly delayed, though it does not define what falls into that category.

“Whether you are entitled to a refund depends on many factors — including the length of the delay, the length of the flight, and your particular circumstances,” it says on its website. “DOT determines whether you are entitled to a refund following a significant delay on a case-by-case basis.”

Airlines attempt to cancel flights long before passengers get to the airport so travelers can make alternative plans, preferably through self-serve platforms on their apps or websites, and don’t overwhelm ticket counters. JetBlue, for example, is trimming about 1,280 flights from its schedule though Jan. 13, ahead of an expected further increase in the number of omicron infections among staff.