2,300 flights cancelled as Omicron hits holiday travel

Travelers arrive at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, on December 24, 2021.

More than 2,300 flights were cancelled around the world Friday and thousands more were delayed as the highly infectious Omicron variant disrupted holiday travel.

One route, however, was thankfully not affected: Santa was on track delivering presents to children across the globe, air defense officials assured US President Joe Biden.

According to tracking website Flightaware.com a total of 2,325 flights had been cancelled worldwide Friday as of 2015 GMT, including 616 flights originating from or headed to US airports, and more than 8,000 delayed.

Over 1,400 cancellations were announced for Saturday, Christmas Day, the site reported.