Several airlines are taking precautionary measures to limit the spread of COVID-19. According to multiple news outlets, the rising cases have resulted in staff shortages and the cancellation of more than 500 flights over the holiday weekend.

United Airlines reportedly canceled 175 Christmas Eve flights and an additional 69 scheduled on Christmas Day.

“The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation. As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel some flights and are notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport,” they wrote in a statement. “We’re sorry for the disruption and are working hard to rebook as many people as possible and get them on their way for the holidays.”

JetBlue reportedly dropped over 50 flights, and Delta announced that they were canceling 256 flights between today (Dec. 24) and tomorrow (Dec. 25) “due to a combination of issues, including but not limited to, potential inclement weather in some areas and the impact of the omicron variant.” They issued an apology for interfering with “holiday travel plans” but said they are working to “get them to where they need to be as quickly and as safely as possible.”

The few hundred flight cancellations in the United States are only a portion of the 2,000+ trips that have been dropped globally. As of now, flights on American Airlines and Southwest Airlines are still running on schedule.

As previously reported, the Omicron variant now accounts for more than three-fourths of the COVID-19 cases in America, becoming the most dominant strain since the start of the pandemic. A number of live shows have also been canceled across the country as government officials promote the vaccine/booster shots and authorize at-home treatments for the virus.