More and more, this summer is looking like it’s going to be a lot of “fun.” Already, two major U.S. airlines had to trim their summer schedules, as Delta joins the cancellation fun. Unfortunately, they’re giving far less notice than the other two.
Thanks to severe labor shortages, Alaska Air was the first to announce summer cuts this year. United followed soon after, thanks to an aircraft shortage, though those jets are making their way back into the air. But Delta is experiencing its own issues, forcing them to trim their schedule too.
Delta Joins the Cancellation Fun
Thanks to staffing shortages of their own, Delta is proactively canceling 100 flights per day between July 1 and August 7. These cancellations will only impact domestic flights and Latin America. Affected passengers can expect to receive a notification via the Delta app or email.
July is about a month away, which is in line with the amount of notification given by other airlines. However, those aren’t the only cancellations Delta is announcing. Though they aren’t providing any figures, Delta is announcing cancellations over the Memorial Day weekend too.
Yup. Delta is only giving a couple of days of notice for these upcoming cancellations. However, this time around, the driving force appears to be weather-related. The Airline wants to get ahead of potential issues to avoid another meltdown. Of course, this means that they’re allowing customers traveling to certain cities to change their flights without having to pay for fare differences. The waiver only applies if you rebook and travel before May 31.
Final Thoughts
All these cancellations would be bad during normal times. However, these are not normal times. In addition to staffing shortages, travel demand is way up. In fact, 25% more Americans are traveling over Memorial Day weekend than did in 2021. That’s a recipe for a lot of headache. So if you’re traveling, be sure to give yourself as much buffer as possible and be prepared for the worst.