Delta Air Lines has applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) under DOT-OST-2020-0035, to delay its operations between the U.S. and Havana (HAV), with the intent to gather the necessary resources to make its operations between the Cuban capital and Miami (MIA) operationally feasible; and to ensure that its services between Atlanta and Cuba are commercially viable.
DOT-OST-2020-0035-0020_attachment_1The U.S. carrier is requesting a waiver from March 26 to April 10, 2023, to commence operations between Miami (MIA) – Havana (HAV), to provide the company additional time to complete certain logistical arrangements to resume the route.
The airline is committed to restart operations and maintain the route between Miami (MIA) and Havana (HAV) which is the largest O&D market between the U.S. and Cuba, Delta claims to be the competitive option against American’s nearly 8 daily flights in this segment.
Delta is also requesting a seasonal waiver, from March 26, 2023 through October 28, 2023, for its services between Atlanta (ATL) and Havana (HAV) in order to plan for the reactivation of this service, adjusting to the changing market conditions in Cuba due to the COVID-19 health situation and the restrictive regime for travelers from both countries.
Atlanta (ATL) is the company’s main hub and one of the most important worldwide, because of the COVID-19 pandemic drastically decreased demand for connecting passenger flow from Havana. The carrier expects travel rules to become more consistent and demand between the U.S. and Cuba to recover to offer travelers the option to connect to destinations that do not have a nonstop connection.
See also: Delta resumes flights to Cuba after a three-year absence
