Delta, Alaska cancel hundreds of flights due to bad weather, Omicron cases

US carriers Delta and Alaska Air canceled hundreds of flights on Tuesday due to adverse weather conditions and rising cases of the Omicron variant. Delta said it expected to cancel more than 250 of 4,133 scheduled flights on Tuesday, while Alaska canceled 150 flights to and from Seattle and warned of more cancellations and delays throughout the day. Total cancellations as of 2 p.m. ET within, into, or out of the United States stood at 1,034, with 2,694 flights delayed, marking a fifth day of flight cancellations. Delta said it was working to reroute and substitute some planes. Despite the ongoing disruption, the US CDC said on Tuesday it is not currently considering recommending a vaccine mandate for domestic flights, responding to a suggestion the previous day by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert. "Right now, what we're talking about is ways to get people vaccinated. Certainly domestic flights has been a topic of conversation, but that is not something we're revisiting right now," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said on National Public Radio when asked about Fauci's comment. Walensky said the CDC considers all potential policy and it strongly recommends vaccinations, noting that unvaccinated people have a much higher chance of being hospitalized from COVID-19. <br/>