Delta Airlines plan to reduce flight schedule this summer by cutting 100 daily departing flights

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- As America starts to see an intense travel surge, airlines are doing their best to build an extra cushion for irregular flight operations. With few pilots available and multiple staff shortages, flight reductions are the best way to prevent massive meltdowns.

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To do that, Delta Airlines announced that they are planning to reduce 100 daily flights going into the summer months.

SEE ALSO: More than 1,000 US flights canceled today as airlines say COVID cases impact flight crews

In a statement, Delta said they had made adjustments to decrease disruptions.

FULL STATEMENT:

We've made several adjustments to minimize disruptions and bounce back faster when challenges occur in recent months. And that's why we'll be taking additional steps in the coming days and weeks to decrease our flight schedule this summer strategically. From July 1-Aug. 7, we'll reduce service by approximately 100 daily departures, primarily in U.S. and Latin America markets that Delta frequently serves. This will build additional resilience in our system and improve operational reliability for our customers and employees; we'll continue to adjust select flights in the coming weeks proactively.

"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," said Chief Customer Experience Officer Allison Ausband.

"We deeply appreciate the energy and efforts of our people and the confidence of our customers as we adapt and pivot to ensure we provide the airline-of-choice experience we're so proud to be known for." Delta teams strive to notify customers of itinerary changes as soon as possible. Suppose a schedule change or delay impacts your upcoming flight. In that case, we'll send updates directly to a mobile device or by email if contact information is included during booking or added later via My Trips online.

We also issue waivers in the event of inclement weather, offering customers whose travel includes affected cities the option to consider moving their travel to before or after the weather event, which can also help avoid unnecessary waiting at airports. Due to forecast weather in the Southeast and Northeast regions of the U.S., Delta has issued a travel waiver - effective May 26-28 - for those who may be impacted in the days ahead. If upcoming bookings for later this summer happen to change, our teams will provide customers with the next-best itinerary that gets them where they need to go with the shortest delay possible.

SEE ALSO: Summer travel chaos: Heightened demand clashing with aviation industry struggling to hire

The airline expects to welcome 2.5 million customers during Memorial Day Weekend. That is a 25% increase in passenger levels since 2021.

Delta says they have made multiple adjustments, such as improving the process for air traffic management, adding hundreds of new pilots and flight attendants, and launching initiatives to improve boarding and departure times.

According to the airline, those efforts are what the customers should know before they begin to set off for summer vacations.