Is it safe to travel this holiday season?

1. Weather… as always. Earlier in the year, Southwest had to cancel around 2,000 flights over a weekend. More recently, American Airlines canceled around the same number. In both cases, the first problem mentioned was inclement weather, which was definitely a factor-though labor shortages for flight attendants and ground crew played a huge role as well. Whatever it was that took the problem from bad to worse, one thing we can usually count on in November and December is some harsh weather. Even if you get an unseasonably warm stretch in the Northeast, record lows somewhere else in the country will throw the nexus of transcontinental flights out of whack. We can't blame the airlines for winter weather happening during winter.

2. Worker shortages. Believe it or not, talking about it hasn't made it go away. Whether it's pandemic restrictions or fewer people feeling the need to work certain jobs, industries across America can't seem to find the workers they need to stay open. This ongoing struggle becomes even more pronounced when people test positive for COVID-19, forcing them-and their close contacts-to quarantine for X number of days. It's hard to imagine this will change before the holidays, especially for people like airline workers who won't be put in a confined space if they test positive or are showing symptoms.

3. Return to "business as usual." The airlines got hit really hard in the spring of 2020 when things first shut down. Government assistance helped keep companies afloat, but there's been a lot of trial and error figuring out how to manage staffing and passenger expectations during these strange times. Flights were canceled pretty frequently before the pandemic, but with everyone starting to travel again at the same time, there's a real spotlight being shined on the issue. It's going to take at least another holiday season for things to get back on track, maybe even longer.