Delta Air Lines has released a list of ten airports where it will end service and consolidate operations. Starting from May 13th, these airports will see the end of Delta service until at least September of this year.

Service consolidations at ten airports

Starting on May 13th, Delta will suspend operations at the following airports through September:

  1. Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW)
  2. Oakland International Airport (OAK)
  3. Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR)
  4. Long Beach Airport (LGB)
  5. T.F. Green International Airport (PVD)
  6. Westchester County Airport (HPN)
  7. Stewart International Airport (SWF)
  8. Akron-Canton Airport (CAK)
  9. Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT)
  10. Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF)

Midway flights will be consolidated at the larger Chicago-O'Hare International Airport (ORD) while San Francisco International (SFO) will be the alternate airport of service for Oakland. Hollywood Burbank and Long Beach flights will be consolidated at Los Angeles International (LAX). Passengers normally flying out of T.F. Green in Providence and Manchester-Boston will need to travel to nearby Boston Logan for flights. Meanwhile, Westchester County service will be consolidated at LaGuardia and Stewart service will be consolidated at New York-JFK. Akron-Canton's alternate service point will be Cleveland Hopkins, and Newport News/Williamsburg flights will be consolidated at Norfolk International (ORF).

Delta Air Lines Salt Lake
Delta is a major Airbus operator in the US. Photo: Getty Images

Delta will re-accommodate customers that are scheduled to fly out of these airports. Thankfully, most of the alternate service points are not too far from the airports losing service. Although, for some passengers, it may result in a more inconvenient arrival city.

Why is Delta doing this?

Delta is saying that this move is targeted at minimizing the exposure risk of employees where customer traffic is low. SVP of Domestic Airport Operations, Sandy Gordon, offered the following statement:

"The safety of our employees and customers remains our primary focus as we navigate these challenges together. By consolidating operations while customer traffic is low, we can allow more of our people to stay home in accordance with local health guidelines."

Empty delta plane coronavirus
Back when travel demand was at historic lows, the move did not significantly alter the airline's profitability potential, but now the blocked middle seat has become part of the airline's marketing strategy. Photo: Getty Images

While that may be true, it also cannot be overlooked that Delta will be able to cut costs this way. For example, from Long Beach, Delta flies to Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. Delta flies to both of these cities out of Los Angeles.

Instead of running empty flights out of both LGB and LAX, Delta can consolidate services at LAX and put additional passengers onboard its aircraft, thereby reducing costs– especially from jet fuel and additional sanitizing.

Delta 757
The Airbus A321 offered an alternative to the Boeing 757. Photo: Getty Images

Delta employees who are affected by this will receive pay protection options from the company through September 30th.

Will Delta further consolidate services?

Delta has filed requests with the U.S. Department of Transportation to consolidate services at other airports in the United States– particularly in smaller cities where load factors are around or below 10%. The DOT is currently reviewing this. Although, some local communities are taking a stand against Delta's requests citing the economic benefits of Delta's flights.

At other major airports, Delta will likely continue to consolidate services. Domestically, in the second quarter, Delta has cut 80% of scheduled capacity with another 90% cut internationally.

Are your travels impacted by Delta's service consolidation? Let us know in the comments!