KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Delta Air Lines is asking federal officials to let it suspend service at the Kalamazoo Battle Creek International Airport and 8 other locations due to a dramatic decrease in air travel.
The airliner has requested to waive its contract with the facility as it seeks to drop small market flights amid a $534 million loss in revenue during the first quarter of 2020.
Delta and other major airlines like United, American, Southwest, and Spirit received federal subsidies as part of the multi-billion dollar CARES stimulus act passed by congress. The law requires that the companies continue to provide a minimum level of service as a condition for taking federal funds from the U.S. Treasury Department.
In a waiver request sent to the Federal Aviation Administration, Delta is asking to suspend flights at airports in Kalamazoo and Flint, as well as other ones in Massachusetts, Illinois, Idaho, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
United currently operates only one flight for passengers multiple times a day to and from the Detroit Metro Airport.
The FAA recently denied a waiver request by United Airlines to suspend service at the Kalamazoo Battle Creek International Airport, saying that the financial costs imposed by the flights were not an adequate reason to cancel the service.
Delta said in their request letter that unlike United, the airliner’s main reasoning for temporarily canceling service at the airport is to protect the health of staff and passengers during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Here, by contrast, Delta seeks an exemption to protect the health and safety of airport staff by reducing their exposure to the health risks associated with COVID-19. Delta submits that the public interest in protecting airport workers from the risk of exposure to a potentially deadly virus outweighs the inconvenience of the additional driving distance to access Delta’s network for such a small number of passengers,” said Delta in its FAA filing.
The Kalamazoo area airport has reported a 95% drop in passengers since the COVID-19 outbreak began, as workplaces and states impose travel restrictions.
The federal government has also put into effect restrictions on travel to certain countries outside of the U.S. such as member states in the European Union and China.
