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She quickly canceled her plans as travel restrictions and testing rules kept changing
, opting initially to stay in the US and visit her sister in Houston, Texas. She ultimately decided to cancel all her travel plans and stay home in Chicago for the holidays.
"Initially, I was hoping to be able to adjust some of my travel depending on the circumstances," Benton said. "While I am fully vaccinated and following protective measures here in Chicago, I was concerned about the possibility of an unexpected positive test and being quarantined overseas."
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has screened more than 2 million people in the past four days, though the number remains about 15 percent lower than pre-pandemic levels. The TSE says it expects to screen 30 million people between Monday and January 3 even as COVID-19 cases increase and Omicron spreads.
Airlines have reported some increase in cancellations in recent weeks. However, millions of Americans are expected to travel by road and air to celebrate Christmas with family and friends.
Delta Air Lines said last week that Omicron was slowing international bookings as many countries imposed new travel restrictions. However, the airline's CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC that "Omicron is not going to affect our holiday bookings."
United Airlines has its busiest flight schedule this month since the pandemic began, averaging more than 4,000 flights a day over the holidays late in the year. The airline said it has added more than 200 domestic flights to meet travel demand over the holiday season. Similarly, Southwest Airlines said yesterday that the airline finds holiday demand trends encouraging.
In the US, COVID cases rose 9% last week but have increased 57% since early December, according to a Reuters count.
The increase in COVID-19 cases in the US is causing some concern about the future of travel. Omicron fears and new travel restrictions have led to an increase in cancellations of hotel bookings around the world, according to online accommodation search firm Trivago.
As cases continue to rise, investors drove shares of airlines and travel groups lower yesterday. Shares of United Airlines fell 3.3%, while Royal Caribbean Group fell 3.4% after 48 people on its Symphony of the Seas cruise ship tested positive for COVID-19.
Source: First Issue
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
Carla Benton, a book curator in Chicago, was preparing to travel to Europe for Christmas when the Omicron variant of coronavirus became known in late November.
She quickly canceled her plans as travel restrictions and testing rules kept changing
, opting initially to stay in the US and visit her sister in Houston, Texas. She ultimately decided to cancel all her travel plans and stay home in Chicago for the holidays.
"Initially, I was hoping to be able to adjust some of my travel depending on the circumstances," Benton said. "While I am fully vaccinated and following protective measures here in Chicago, I was concerned about the possibility of an unexpected positive test and being quarantined overseas."
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has screened more than 2 million people in the past four days, though the number remains about 15 percent lower than pre-pandemic levels. The TSE says it expects to screen 30 million people between Monday and January 3 even as COVID-19 cases increase and Omicron spreads.
Airlines have reported some increase in cancellations in recent weeks. However, millions of Americans are expected to travel by road and air to celebrate Christmas with family and friends.
Delta Air Lines said last week that Omicron was slowing international bookings as many countries imposed new travel restrictions. However, the airline's CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC that "Omicron is not going to affect our holiday bookings."
United Airlines has its busiest flight schedule this month since the pandemic began, averaging more than 4,000 flights a day over the holidays late in the year. The airline said it has added more than 200 domestic flights to meet travel demand over the holiday season. Similarly, Southwest Airlines said yesterday that the airline finds holiday demand trends encouraging.
In the US, COVID cases rose 9% last week but have increased 57% since early December, according to a Reuters count.
The increase in COVID-19 cases in the US is causing some concern about the future of travel. Omicron fears and new travel restrictions have led to an increase in cancellations of hotel bookings around the world, according to online accommodation search firm Trivago.
As cases continue to rise, investors drove shares of airlines and travel groups lower yesterday. Shares of United Airlines fell 3.3%, while Royal Caribbean Group fell 3.4% after 48 people on its Symphony of the Seas cruise ship tested positive for COVID-19.
Source: First Issue
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
