After more than a year and a half, the travel industry is beginning to get back on its feet as people start to take to the skies once again. According to data from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), 2,040,364 travelers passed through security checkpoints on Dec. 12, which is up nearly two and a half times the 865,014 passengers recorded on the same date last year. But even as flights become full again, airlines are still coping with the new realities of the post-pandemic world and changing the way they operate as necessary—including where they fly. Now, Delta has become the latest airline to announce that, soon, it will no longer fly to certain cities. Read on to see which destinations are getting dropped from the carrier's route map early next month.
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Delta will no longer fly to Lincoln, Nebraska; Cody, Wyoming; and Grand Junction, Colorado, as of Jan. 9.
As part of a route reorganization, Delta will be dropping seven of its regularly operated flights in the coming weeks, travel news outlet The Points Guy first reported. The resulting changes will also mean that Grand Junction, Colorado; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Cody, Wyoming, will no longer be served by the airline.
The route changes will end flights to Lincoln and Grand Junction on Jan. 9. Flights to Cody, which is a seasonal route, have been suspended since October 2021, The Points Guy reports.
Other regularly operated flights are being scrapped as part of the changes.
While the changes will see the three cities entirely lose service from Delta, other flights will also be axed as part of the route reshuffling. The carrier will no longer operate between Detroit and La Crosse, Wisconsin; Minneapolis–Saint Paul and Great Falls, Montana; Minneapolis–Saint Paul and Marquette County, Michigan; and between Salt Lake City and Indianapolis, Indiana. However, Delta flights from other hubs will still provide service to the cities.
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An airline spokesperson says changes in demand forced the carrier to drop the routes.
Delta says its decision to stop flights to those three cities was based on demand. The airline also said that it would soon redistribute the aircraft previously assigned to the now-canceled routes to other cities where they're needed.
"Due to ongoing travel demand impact from the pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to suspend Delta Connection service to these markets," a Delta spokesperson told The Points Guy in a statement confirming the changes. "We are working to re-accommodate customers with alternate plans or offer refunds as quickly as possible. We are grateful to all who supported this service throughout the years."
Delta also scaled back its flights servicing other cities recently.
On Dec. 8, the airline announced that it would be reducing the number of daily flights it operates from the Brunswick Golden Isles Airport in Glynn County, Georgia, to its global hub in Atlanta from three to two during January and February, according to The Brunswick News.
Despite being only a little more than 300 miles apart, flights between these locations are often overbooked. But during a development meeting on Dec. 7, Rob Burr, the executive director of the Glynn County Airport Authority, said that Delta was paring back flights from Brunswick Golden Isles Airport to Atlanta because of a shortage of pilots. "Delta is struggling to staff," Burr said at the meeting. "We have strong demand, but the supply is not there. We need four flights a day."
The airline also recently shelved plans to operate flights from Atlanta to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the summer of 2022, Simple Flying reported on Dec. 6. According to the travel news outlet, Delta had planned to have five weekly outbound flights from Atlanta to Rio next summer, but all 154 flights have since been removed from its schedule.
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Zachary Mack Zach is a freelance writer specializing in beer, wine, food, spirits, and travel. He is based in Manhattan.Read moreFiled UnderAirports • News • Travel AdviceRead This NextDelta Air Lines Is Cutting These Flights
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