On Thursday, more than 1,200 off-duty Delta pilots and staff picketed at 7 major airports nationwide, as first reported by NPR, calling for higher pay and better job security, among other things. 

What You Need To Know

  • This week, Delta pilots are protesting in part due to their concerns regarding the current working conditions, which has airline employees working overtime to meet the current flight demands

  • This holiday, airlines expect the highest number of passengers since the beginning of the pandemic, with the American Automobile Association expecting more than 3.5 million Americans to fly this weekend

  • In an open letter to customers published in mid-June, Delta Pilots announced that by this fall, they will have “flown more overtime in 2022 than in the entirety of 2018 and 2019 combined"

  • Earlier this week, Delta told travelers they could rebook flights from Friday to Monday "with no fare difference or change fees." Rebooked flights must be between the same origins and destinations and completed before July 8

The demonstrations –  which took place at airports in New York City, Atlanta, Los Angeles and others –  come as flight cancellations across the country continue to increase. 

The Delta pilots, who are members of the Delta unit of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) are protesting in part due to their concerns regarding the current working conditions, which has airline employees working overtime to meet the current flight demands. 

At the moment, airlines are struggling to meet the surge in air travel demand, which has forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights in the last several weeks. 

This holiday weekend airlines expect the highest number of passengers since the beginning of the pandemic, with the American Automobile Association expecting more than 3.5 million Americans to fly this weekend. 

Delta said it foresees the biggest crowds this weekend since 2019, which will present some “operational challenges.”

Since Memorial Day weekend, Delta has canceled 4% of its flights and another 20% have been delayed, according to FlightAware.com. 

On Thursday, Delta CEO Ed Bastian published a statement apologizing to customers who have been affected by the delays and cancellations.

“Though the majority of our flights continue to operate on time, this level of disruption and uncertainty is unacceptable,” wrote Bastian. "Crews are being scheduled with more buffer room to help us absorb and adjust when factors like summer thunderstorms disrupt the operation.”

As the demand for air travel continues to increase post-pandemic, pilots are working more overtime than they have in recent years. 

In an open letter to customers published in mid-June, Delta Pilots announced that by this fall, they will have “flown more overtime in 2022 than in the entirety of 2018 and 2019 combined.”

The pilots are calling for better pay and flexible work scheduling as well as better job security and retirement benefits. 

“Delta pilots were frontline leaders during COVID and the recovery,” said Captain Jason Ambrosi, chair of the Delta ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC), in a statement emailed to Spectrum News. “We have helped our airline recover by flying record amounts of overtime and spending more time away from our families than ever before to get our customers safely to their destinations.”

Currently, the Delta Pilots are working under a contract that was signed in 2016. The union paused its regular negotiations at the start of the pandemic but resumed discussions in January 2022. 

The pilots have voiced their frustrations over stalled contract talks.

“It’s been two-and-a-half years since our contract became amendable and three-and-a-half years since the Delta pilots last had a pay raise,” said Ambrosi in a statement sent to Spectrum News. “Meanwhile, our quality of life has eroded due to management’s unwillingness to schedule the airline properly.”

In response to Thursday’s pilot picket, a delta spokesperson told Spectrum News that it would not “disrupt our operation for our customers.”

“Earlier this year, Delta, ALPA, and a representative from the National Mediation Board restarted our mediated contract negotiations,” reads the statement from the Delta spokesperson, sent to Spectrum News. “Our goal remains to continue providing Delta pilots with an industry-leading overall contract with the best compensation based on pay, retirement, work rules, and profit-sharing.”

“We’re also committed to making sure the contract language supports our ability to run a world-class operation, maintain a strong balance sheet, and invest in our business for our customers and employees alike,” added the Delta spokesperson. 

On Friday, American Airlines offered its pilots raises of nearly 17% by 2024 under a new contract, while also vowing to improve scheduling and work-life balance. The proposal was outlined in an internal video sent to pilots on Thursday, seen by CNBC.

Earlier this week, Delta told travelers they could rebook flights from Friday to Monday "with no fare difference or change fees." Rebooked flights must be between the same origins and destinations and completed before July 8.

Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has also urged transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg to act immediately to protect the rights of airline passengers and workers. 

“Given all of the generous taxpayer support that has been provided to the airline industry, all of us have a responsibility to make sure that passengers and crew members are treated with respect, not contempt,” wrote Sanders in a letter.  

In the letter addressed to Secretary Buttigieg, Sanders suggested Buttigieg require airlines to refund passengers for flights that are delayed more than an hour, impose fines for flights that are delayed more than two hours and impose fines on airlines for scheduling flights that they are unable to properly staff.

Earlier in June, Buttigieg met with airline executives and pressed them on the flight disruptions. 

Buttigieg has said that he is pushing the airlines to conduct “stress tests” for their summer schedules to ensure they can operate their planned flights. He has also threatened fines if airlines do not fix their operations.