According to airline officials, ticket counters tend to be empty on the last day of every year

December 30, 1999
Web posted at: 1:52 a.m. EST (0652 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- When the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, New York's Times Square will be crowded -- unlike the skies above it.

Airline officials say fears over possible Y2K problems weren't the main reason domestic air carriers canceled dozens of flights scheduled for the night of December 31.

Mainly, they say, it's because people don't usually fly on New Year's Eve.

American Airlines is canceling 20 percent of its scheduled flights. United Airlines, the biggest U.S. carrier, is canceling a third of its schedule. Delta Airlines is canceling 23 percent of its planned flights -- though it does expect to have 50 planes in the air around the world as the year 2000 begins.

Four carriers won't be in the skies at all this New Year's Eve: Virgin Atlantic, Southwest, National and Frontier airlines. But they cite economics or the holiday spirit, not fears about the millennium bug, as the reasons for their absence.

	VIDEO
Reporter Jonathan Aiken looks at why the skies will be relatively empty this New Year's Eve. (December 29) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

Y2K or not, for many people, this is a three-day weekend.

"People either got to where they want to be; they're there already; they'll get there before the 31st; they're staying home; or they're working," explained Mary Frances Fagan, spokeswoman for American Airlines.

Another factor is the way the holiday falls in the calendar, making it easier for people to travel around it -- not on it.

"Because New Year's Eve is on a Friday, New Year's Day is on a Saturday, you're not having business travel," said David Fuscus of the Air Transport Association of America.

"We didn't change plans. It's not the sort of thing you can worry about," said one air traveler.

American Airlines is canceling 20 percent of its flights on New Year's Eve

If people aren't flying on the last night of 1999, where will they be?

While Times Square may lure some, a CNN/Time poll finds 75 percent of Americans will be at home at midnight on New Year's Eve.

The empty airports and light air traffic on Friday are just a respite, though.

Airline officials say the first business day of the year 2000 -- Monday -- is shaping up to be one of the busiest travel days ever.

Reporter Jonathan Aiken contributed to this report.

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