Delta Cutting Service to 17 Cities, at Least for Now

Delta Airlines announced today it is cutting 17 cities from its flight schedule.  That's on the heels of a request from the Federal Aviation Administration to cut 10% of its flight schedule at some of the country's busiest airports, due to a lack of air traffic controllers.

During the pandemic last year, passengers experienced more flight delays and cancellations due to a lack of pilots and other airport workers.  FAA officials say they're trying to ease congestion at some airports and avoid delays and cancellations this summer.

Starting June 5, Delta will no longer provide service to Akron, Ohio; Cody, Wyoming; Durango, Colorado; Erie, Pennsylvania; Flint, Michigan; Fort Smith, Arkansas; Grand Junction, Colorado; Lacrosse, Wisconsin; Lincoln, Nebraska; Manchester, New Hampshire; New Bern, North Carolina; Newburgh, New York; Newport News, Virginia; Peoria, Illinois; Santa Barbara, California; State College, Pennsylvania; and Wiles-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Affected customers will be notified by Delta and will be offered other options.  A statement from Delta said, "We apologize to customers for any inconvenience these changes may cause."

Company officials expect at least some of the cuts to be temporary, but there's no timeline as to when service might resume in the affected areas.