FILE PHOTO: Delta Air Lines passenger planes are seen parked due to flight reduction made to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) disease, at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Alabama, US March 25, 2020. REUTERS / Elijah Nouvelage / File photo
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) and the union representing its pilots said on Friday that they would remain in talks to prevent furloughs, after 1,806 pilots agreed to early retirement programs, with the airline pointing to the prospect of a recovery of pandemic as key to their final decision.
In a memo to pilots, Delta’s head of flight operations, John Laughter, said that in recent weeks there have been “additional changes to the demand for travel and travel recovery” that the airline is assessing because they chart paths for a multi-year recovery.
Delta will communicate more next week, he said, without giving further details.
A Delta spokesman said “furloughs will remain a last resort and we will continue to work with ALPA to find a way to spread the flight among the pilots to reduce or prevent furloughs altogether.”
Delta had issued warnings of possible furloughs to 2,258 pilots, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA)’s Master Executive Council (MEC) said in a statement, adding that it had hoped for additional volunteer options for pilots similar to programs at other large carriers.
Report by Tracy Rucinski; Edited by Chizu Nomiyama and Grant McCool
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