5 Routes Cut From Delta's Flight Schedule As Airline Industry Continues Reductions

More flights are being dropped by the airline industry, this time from Delta Air Lines as it cuts five regional routes effective this fall.

The move from the airline comes as travel demand reaches a heightened level following the standstill of the industry during the earlier days of the COVID pandemic when staff was pared back to save on costs.

Airlines, like Delta, had offered buyouts and early retirement packages to older pilots to cut costs during the onset of the pandemic. Now airlines are struggling with staffing shortages, especially pilots, which are causing massive flight delays and cancelations each day.

Route cuts at Delta will affect Detroit service to Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Dayton, Ohio; Allentown, Pennsylvania; and Fort Wayne, Indiana, OurQuadCities.com reported. Outside of service to Allentown which ends Sept. 11, the other routes will be cut starting Oct. 5.

Service from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Moline, Illinois, also ends on Oct. 5.

In a statement to the news outlet, the Quad Cities International Airport said, in part, "The ongoing pilot shortages continue to impact many regional airports and these decisions are unfortunately more and more common as a result."

A Delta spokesperson told the Points Guy the decision to cut the routes was demand driven, adding, "We continue to monitor and adjust our flight schedules as needed on an ongoing basis; staying in line with current customer demand trends."

Delta isn't alone in cutting flights. Both American Airlines and United Airlines are also eliminating routes in their schedules. American will slash 209 flights in September and 379 flights in October out of Philadelphia, and United recently dropped flights to Flagstaff, Arizona, and Texarkana, Arkansas.

Despite the cutbacks, Delta will add three round-trip flights a day between Boston and Westchester County Airport north of New York City on Oct. 6, the Points Guy said.