by Lindsey Wasson and Gabriella Borter
(Reuters) – The surge in coronavirus contaminations and adverse weather conditions prompted the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights in the United States on Monday, where the spread of the Omicron variant prompted the leading infectious disease expert to suggest a vaccination requirement for domestic flights.
For the fourth day in a row, thousands of passengers have been stranded at airports, seeing their plans turned upside down after Christmas weekend and waiting in long lines hoping to book another flight.
Major U.S. airlines are facing staffing shortages attributed to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which has forced many pilots and crew to self-isolate at home.
The federal government needs to consider implementing a vaccine pass for domestic flights, said Anthony Fauci, senior infectious disease expert and administration adviser to President Joe Biden.
“It is just one of the measures that I think is reasonable to consider,” he said in an interview with MSNBC television.
Asked by reporters on Monday, Joe Biden declined to say whether he was in favor of introducing a vaccination requirement for domestic flights. The US president has said in the past that he does not consider such a measure necessary.
In comments subsequently made, Anthony Fauci appeared to backtrack on his comments, telling CNN that he did not expect a vaccine pass to be made mandatory for air travel.
“I did not say I was in favor of a requirement for domestic flights. I said it was something on the table to be considered,” he said in a second interview with MSNBC.
(Reporting Lindsey Wasson and Gabriella Borter, with Aishwarya Nair, Jonathan Allen, Aleksandra Michalska, Trevor Hunnicutt, Dan Whitcomb; French version Jean Terzian)
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