NEWARK, NJ, USA (AP) – A new type of COVID-19 has disrupted year-end plans for tens of thousands of travelers, but it has done little to damage sales for the season.

Airlines canceled more flights on Sunday, citing staff shortages due to issues related to COVID-19, as hardships for those wishing to travel continued last Christmas with no clear indication of when normal life might resume.

However, buyers forgot about the omicron variable as seasonal sales rose at their highest rate in 17 years, as measured by a measure of those expenses.

Micron is likely to slow the economy’s unexpectedly strong recovery from last year’s recession caused by the coronavirus by disrupting travel and discouraging some consumers from going out. The alternative could also add to already strong inflation by closing factories and ports, delaying shipments and causing prices to rise.

“A complete reopening of the US economy will be delayed again,” said Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance, a group of financial firms.

However, the extent and duration of the damage are unknown. For now, the alternative is wreaking havoc on travel. More than 1,100 flights arriving, departing or operating within the United States have been suspended, according to their tracking site FlightAware.

That number represents an increase of nearly 1,000 from Saturday and about 130 more had been canceled by Monday.

Delta, United, JetBlue and American all blamed Omicron for a staff shortage that led to the cancellations.

“This was unexpected,” United spokeswoman Maddy King said of the effects of the variance on employment.

Globally, airlines had canceled more than 2,700 flights by Sunday night and reached nearly more than 2,800 cancellations the day before, according to FlightAware figures. The website did not explain the reason for canceling the flights.