Delta cuts flights as Memorial Day weekend travel kicks off

SEATAC, Wash. — As the Memorial Day weekend holiday is underway, there are already major impacts at the airport.

As of early Friday morning, there were 39 total cancellations at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and 18 delays across all airlines.

Delta Airlines said it is cutting flights to “relieve pressure.” The airline slashed 17 flights at SEA as of Thursday afternoon as people headed out for the long weekend, according to FlightAware.com.

Delta officials said it was making the cuts to help the airline recover faster from bad weather, work absences and more issues that have recently hampered the airline, according to Bloomberg.

Delta travelers should take note that the cuts aren’t just a concern this weekend. The airline said it’s going to trim about 100 flights a day across the U.S. and Latin America from July 1 through early August to increase reliability.

Delta has also said that even more cuts could be on the horizon. The airline could also be slashing flights in June.

The airline has a significant presence at SEA. It’s the second-busiest airline at the airport by passenger volume.

Alaska Airlines has also been canceling flights amid a pilot shortage and labor strife between Alaska pilots and the airline.

JetBlue also announced it’s cutting up to 10% of flights.

Alaska Airlines has reduced its schedule by about 2% through June.

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