JetBlue cuts hundreds of flights through mid-January, expecting more omicron sick calls

JetBlue Airways is cutting more than 1,280 flights from Thursday through mid-January in anticipation of more Covid-19 infections among pilots and flight attendants.

New York-based JetBlue and other carriers, including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, have canceled more than 4,000 flights since Christmas Eve, struggling with bad weather and a surge in sick calls from crews.

“This past week has been one of our most difficult operating periods during the pandemic,” three JetBlue department leaders wrote Tuesday in a note to staff, which was seen by CNBC. “The exponential growth in Omicron cases over just a couple of days is at a level that no one could reasonably prepare for.”

They said the airline would cancel flights “to get even further ahead of the expected increase in Omicron cases.” The planned flight cuts are slightly below 10% of JetBlue’s daily schedules.

JetBlue canceled 173 flights, or 17% of its schedule Thursday, while more than 1,000 flights were canceled nationwide, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. United Airlines, meanwhile canceled 188 flights, or 8% of its mainline schedule, while regional airline SkyWest dropped 144, or 6%. Seattle-based Alaska Airlines canceled 95 flights, 14% of what it planned to fly.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday cut its recommended isolation time to five days from 10 for individuals who have tested positive for Covid but are asymptomatic.

JetBlue had followed Delta last week in urging the CDC to halve its guidance for isolation for breakthrough Covid cases to five days, warning about staffing shortages and flight disruptions as omicron was rapidly spreading. Other airlines followed suit.

JetBlue updated its leave policies after the CDC’s announcement to allow staff to return to work if they are symptom-free after five days.

The JetBlue department heads said in the staff note that they are hopeful that the new guidelines would help bring back staff faster but added, “we know that Omicron cases have yet to peak in the Northeast (and won’t for at least another week or two) where the vast majority of our Crewmembers are based.”

The Association of Flight Attendants, the largest U.S. flight attendants union, had urged the CDC against making the change and said stronger protocols are needed, like a negative test, to return to work and 10 days of isolation for unvaccinated workers who test positive.

“We believe this is the wrong move for aviation as it accepts that infectious people will be put back on the job or flying as passengers on our planes,” AFA’s international president, Sara Nelson, wrote to airline CEOs on Wednesday. “While our union did not—and does not—support the updated guidance, we stand ready to work together with airlines to implement the new rules in a way that will protect workers and provide clarity and confidence for our passengers.”