Many flights continue to be canceled across the country and on Long Island as airlines face staffing shortages.

Wantagh-based travel agent Matthew Kondrup says he is hearing frustration and some understanding from travelers whose flights have been canceled or delayed.

"The number one thing is pack some extra patience,” he says. "A lot of this is last minute, and it's understanding. Obviously you can't have staff that are sick operating the planes, but it is definitely that chain of events and circle of events that cause some difficulties for families trying to travel and people trying to travel for work.”

Many airlines are battling the fallout from the highly contagious COVID-19 Omicron variant, which is impacting staff.

"Everybody’s short staffed on a good day…now you've got short staffing due to people coming back into travel, working for the airlines, and then people are getting sick,” Kondrup says.

He says the last minute cancellations, schedule changes and even recent weather issues are all contributing factors to the thousands of flights canceled in the last couple of weeks.

According to the airline flight tracker site FlightAware, more than 1,000 flights were canceled Tuesday across the country.

Kondrup suggests flyers to constantly check their flight status and get to the airport early so there is plenty of time to get through security.

"As flights are being canceled, that increases more and more long lines in the airport, so leaving yourself plenty of extra time,” he says.

Kondrup says deciding to reschedule or cancel upcoming trips due to the rise in cases is up to the flyer. He says if you’re still comfortable travelling now, just be patient and flexible.