INTERNATIONAL: Around 7,500 flights have been cancelled worldwide over the Christmas weekend and thousands more delayed, a flight tracking website of the United States has reported on Sunday, as the highly infectious Omicron variant brings holiday hurt to millions.

According to Flightaware.com,at least 2,250 flights were scrubbed around the globe on Sunday, including more than 600 originating from or heading to U.S. airports, with over 4,500 delays.More than 2,800 flights were scrubbed around the globe on Saturday, including more than 990 originating from or headed to U.S. airports, with more than 9,400 delays. On Friday, there were around 2,400 cancellations and 11,000 delays, according to the report.

Pilots, flight attendants and other employees have been calling in sick or having to quarantine after exposure to COVID-19, forcing Lufthansa, Delta, United Airlines, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines and many other short-staffed carriers to cancel flights during one of the year's peak travel periods.

As predicted, the situation will last for another two days after the Christmas weekend.