Delta Air Lines has cancelled over 300 flights today on Thanksgiving Day so far as the airline is having massive pilot staffing challenges this week. Delta is being forced to cancel hundreds of flights due to not having enough pilots available.
Earlier this week, Delta pilots agreed to a 5% reduction in guaranteed hours per month in order to avoid furloughing up to 1,700 pilots. Well 76% of pilots were in favor of this, the remainder opposed this and I can’t help but wonder if the pilot staffing issues arose from Delta pilots calling out sick in spite of the reduction of flying.
As of this writing, 303 Delta mainline flights have been canceled today on Thanksgiving primarily domestic flights. All fleets are having shortages including 738/739, 757/767, A319/320/321 and 717’s.
Here’s just a few of the 300+ Delta flights that have been canceled on Thanksgiving Day:
Delta 1311 Los Angeles- Boston (757) CancelledÂ
Delta 307 New York (JFK) – Seattle (757) CancelledÂ
Delta 833 Detroit (DTW) – Phoenix (321) CancelledÂ
Delta 368 Atlanta (ATL) – Los Angeles (739) CancelledÂ
Bottom Line
It’s unfortunate to see over 300 Delta mainline flights cancelled today on Thanksgiving Day due to pilot staffing issues which leads to flights with uncovered crew. Friday isn’t looking much better with over 160 flights already cancelled at the time of this writing.
When it comes to pilot callouts, it’s a lot harder to have these flights covered by other pilots as each pilot is qualified on a specific aircraft type, unlike flight attendants who can fly on any aircraft.
If you are traveling on Delta this weekend, be sure to double check your flight to make sure it’s still operating as I’d suspect we’ll continue to see cancellation through the weekend. If your flight is cancelled, Delta should automatically rebook you on the next available flight, or you can select another flight option online or on the Fly Delta app.
What do you make of all these Delta flight cancellations on Thanksgiving? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.Â
Hat Tip: View from the Wing
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If the pilot do not wish to fly – fine – fire their butts and get some of the furloughed pilots and we will suffer though for the next month. Pilots make a ton of money and don’t work very hard in this day and age. Oh and by the way they have so few perks and days off you have to feel sorry for them.
JonB.
I always thought flight attendants also have to pass safety exams on each type of aircraft they work in.
More proof unions drag everyone down instead of raising the bar.
I’m pro union, 100%, but they sure do look bad in any objective viewpoint.