Rush to return home after the holidays

After a busy week due to the holidays, people are back on the roads or in the skies to go back home.

But the rush to return home has caused delays nationwide.

Throughout the weekend, thousands of flights were canceled across the U.S. due to weather and Omicron-fueled staff shortages.

“Airlines did not see this new variant coming," said travel editor Brian Sumers, "If pilots and flight attendants and gate agents can't go to work, how can airlines run the schedule that they sold to the public months ago?”

Over the last week, thousands of people flocked to the Coachella Valley to enjoy the holidays.

Many of them opted to take to the busy roads to get to the desert. “About 30 minutes out, there were a couple of slow downs. One car was just dead out of Indio, so it was in the fast lane so that slowed it down,” said traveler Jake Jennings.

Triple A predicted Sunday would see the heaviest traffic across Southern California freeways.

The auto club also reported nearly 8 million people on the freeways in SoCal, over the past week and a half.