Delta Air Lines announced this week that its nonstop service between Cedar Rapids and Detroit will be suspended in early October. In a statement, Delta spokesperson Drake Castañeda confirmed that the flights, which currently comprise daily departures from the Eastern Iowa Airport at 2:36 p.m. and daily arrivals from Detroit at 4:30 p.m., will be […]
Delta Air Lines announced this week that its nonstop service between Cedar Rapids and Detroit will be suspended in early October.
In a statement,
Delta spokesperson Drake Castañeda confirmed that the flights, which currently comprise daily departures from the Eastern Iowa Airport at 2:36 p.m. and daily arrivals from Detroit at 4:30 p.m., will be halted indefinitely as of Oct. 5.
Mr. Castañeda said the move is “due to a range of factors that go into these decisions on an ongoing basis, including customer demand, staffing and the impact that has on the need to maintain operational feasibility and avoid customer impact with day-of cancellations by running a more responsible schedule to align with those other factors.
“We hope to restore the routes impacted when conditions permit, as we always continue to monitor and adjust our schedule,” he added.
“This is directly related to the national pilot shortage issue,” said
Eastern Iowa Airport director
Marty Lenss in response to Delta’s announcement. “Nationally, more than 52 communities have lost one of the three major airlines, and several communities have lost commercial air service altogether. While it is unfortunate Delta has had to suspend the Detroit service, we are very grateful they added a third daily flight to Minneapolis. Overall, this change means Delta is providing the same number of seats in the CID market. Minneapolis provides many efficient connection opportunities for the region.”
Delta also announced the suspension of
four other regional flights. Service between Detroit and Allentown, Pennsylvania will be suspended Sept. 11, while service between the Quad Cities and Minneapolis; Detroit and Dayton, Ohio; and Detroit and Fort Wayne, Indiana will all be suspended Oct. 5.
Summer's severe weather has been compounding other operational challenges for the nation’s airlines, including staffing at airlines and airports,
CNN reports. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been working to address air travel disruptions as travel demand shattered by the pandemic has come roaring back.
