Delta to Cut 100 Flights Daily From Its Summer Schedule

With summer approaching, travelers are gearing up for a surge in air travel. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently indicated it expects passenger numbers to match or even surpass 2019 levels for the first time since the pandemic began. While this bodes well for the travel sector, the industry faces challenges as it works to recover from the significant disruptions caused by the pandemic.

In light of these circumstances, airlines are having to scale back operations, and Delta Air Lines is the latest to announce reductions, stating this week that it will eliminate around 100 daily flights from its summer itinerary.

Delta's Chief Customer Experience Officer, Allison Ausband, noted in a statement on Thursday, “Currently, more than ever, various factors affecting our operations—such as weather, air traffic control, vendor staffing, and rising COVID case rates leading to unplanned staff absences—are causing operations that fall short of the standards Delta has set for the industry in recent years.”

Due to staffing and operational hurdles, Delta revealed it will cut approximately 100 daily departures from July 1 to August 7, focusing primarily on routes in the U.S. and Latin America. The airline also stated that it will continue to adjust select flights proactively in the coming weeks.

“Rebuilding Delta’s extensive operations to meet the growing demand from customers eager to fly with us has been a significant undertaking—and not without its hurdles,” the airline remarked.

The airline announced it will keep customers informed about itinerary changes, delays, and cancellations “as early as possible” by sending updates directly to mobile devices or via email. “When cancellations are unavoidable, Delta aims to minimize the impact on customers by making adjustments that affect the fewest travelers with the least amount of delay. Whenever feasible, Delta strives to notify customers of cancellations well ahead of their arrival at the airport,” the airline stated.

In addition, Delta will provide flight waivers for services impacted by severe weather, allowing affected travelers to adjust their travel plans to before or after the weather event. This has already been implemented for flights in the Southeast and Northeast for travel from May 26 to 28.

Delta is the latest in a series of airlines that have chosen to proactively reduce their summer flight schedules. Last month, JetBlue Airways announced it would cut its summer flights by 10 percent in anticipation of one of the busiest travel seasons in years.

JetBlue explained that its reduced schedule “will create more flexibility throughout the day to address operational disruptions and ease pressure on crew resources,” according to a statement from Joanna Geraghty, the airline’s president. With airlines expecting “a record-setting summer,” Geraghty noted that JetBlue will trim its flights while also ramping up hiring and training, particularly in areas where customer dissatisfaction is high—such as customer support centers. Call volumes and wait times surged last month across the airline sector, leaving carriers struggling to recruit and train new staff in a competitive labor market.

Alaska Airlines, whose pilots are currently voting on a potential strike (the airline has stated it’s “dedicated to securing a favorable contract for our pilots”), recently reduced its flight schedule by about 2 percent through June to help minimize disruptions. Similarly, Southwest Airlines has cut roughly 8,000 flights from its June schedule, following a reduction of 14,500 flights from March to May. Some airlines, including American and United, have even started using bus transfers for certain short-haul routes, a decision that several reports have linked to the ongoing pilot shortage.

Regarding Delta, the airline anticipates around 2.5 million travelers will fly over the Memorial Day weekend, marking a 25 percent increase compared to 2021. To accommodate the growing number of passengers, Delta plans to onboard several hundred new pilots and flight attendants to its workforce each month.