Delta adjusts August flying schedule amid coronavirus concerns, continues blocking seats for safety

The airline continues fine-tuning its schedule following recent surges in COVID-19 cases that have slowed customer demand.

"Since the pandemic's start, we've taken a conservative approach to rebuilding our network amid fluctuating demand," said Joe Esposito, Senior Vice President - Network Planning. "At the same time, we're focused on rebuilding consumer confidence in a safe experience with our priority on cleanliness and more space, which are consistently cited as the top reasons for a customer's choice to fly. We want each Delta customer to have peace of mind throughout their journey, as we look forward to offering more choice and convenience for those with a variety of needs and reasons to travel."

Delta is committed to offering customers the highest levels of cleanliness in the industry, along with more space and safer service. Ensuring a safer, more confident travel experience from check-in to baggage claim for both customers and employees remains our top priority.

Some of the many layers of protection we've introduced include:

Reducing the number of people on board, blocking the selection of middle seats, and now automatically blocking adjacent seats when reservations are completed
Providing peace of mind with extensive cleaning measures throughout the travel journey
Requiring face masks across Delta touchpoints at airports and onboard aircraft
Read more about the full travel experience with Delta.

For customers who need additional reassurance in their travel plans, Delta is also offering more flexibility when they book, change or cancel a flight, including:

Extending the change-fee waiver to new flights purchased through August 31
Offering the ability to rebook travel for up to two years for customers who purchased flights prior to April 17, 2020, that are pending travel through the end of year
Delta continues enhancing connectivity with more flights through our Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City hubs. We're also gradually building up service in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City (JFK, LGA), and Seattle at a steadier rate, to meet demand while remaining adaptable to changing environments.

Delta also plans to resume service to notable international markets across the Atlantic and in Latin America and the Caribbean, including service to São Paulo, Dublin, Milan and Munich.

Systemwide, the schedule will be reduced approximately 60 percent from this time last year, including reductions of about 50 percent for U.S. domestic travel and around 70 percent for international.