COVID-19 is impacting travel across the entire industry, and many of these changes will affect travelers directly in the coming months. The most recent announcement comes from Delta. Last week, the airline announced it is cutting service at 10 U.S. airports serving cities including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago as part of a previously announced 85% overall reduction in its service schedule.
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Delta is ensuring passengers that the airports they are closing are relatively close to other, larger airports that travelers can use as an alternative. For passengers looking to fly in New York, Delta’s Westchester County Airport will close, but they can seek LaGuardia as a nearby option, and Stewart International will also close, but John F. Kennedy International could be an alternative. Similarly, Delta will stop service at Hollywood Burbank Airport and Long Beach Airport in Southern California, encouraging travelers to use Los Angeles International Airport instead. Chicago Midway will also shut down its Delta service, but Chicago O’Hare will remain open.
These changes will go into effect Wednesday, May 13, and remain until September, the airline said, stating the cutbacks as an effort to reduce airline employee exposure to the coronavirus.
“By consolidating operations while customer traffic is low, we can allow more of our people to stay home in accordance with local health guidelines,” said Senior Vice President Sandy Gordon in a statement.
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Delta announced that it has reduced its domestic flying by 80% and international flights by 90%. The airline is also waiving change fees through Sept. 30, 2022, for customers who had flights canceled through this September and had booked before April 17.
With so many changes happening, we highly recommend you check with your airline at least a day before departure to ensure no last-minute changes.
Here is a list of airports where Delta will be temporarily suspending service:
- Westchester County Airport
- New York Stewart International Airport
- Hollywood Burbank Airport
- Long Beach Airport
- Chicago Midway International Airport
- T.F. Green International Airport
- Manchester-Boston Regional Airport
- Oakland International Airport
- Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport
- Akron-Canton Airport
