Delta will cut its schedule by 100 flights per day between July 1 and Aug. 7, as rising Covid-19 cases and vendors’ staffing shortages challenge operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Atlanta-based airline said the reductions will be made primarily to high-frequency markets in the U.S. and Latin America.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“This will build additional resilience in our system and improve operational reliability for our customers and employees,” the carrier said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Delta joins several other U.S. airlines, including Alaska, Spirit, Southwest and JetBlue, in cutting capacity over the summer.<\/p>\n
“More than any time in our history, the various factors currently impacting our operation — weather and air traffic control, vendor staffing, increased Covid case rates contributing to higher-than-planned unscheduled absences in some work groups — are resulting in an operation that isn’t consistently up to the standards Delta has set for the industry in recent years,” chief customer experience officer Allison Ausband said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Delta canceled 2% of its flights from May 1 through May 25, according Cirium data.\u00a0<\/p>\n