Delta cuts Germany, Colombia routes in latest network adjustment
Delta Air Lines is making some high-profile changes to its network.
The Atlanta-based carrier filed plans this weekend to exit two noteworthy international routes. The airline will scrap service from Atlanta to Stuttgart, Germany, and from New York to Bogota, Colombia, as first seen in Cirium schedules and confirmed by a carrier spokesperson.
Both cuts take effect on Oct. 26, coinciding with the official start of the airline's winter season.
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The bigger story is the cut in Stuttgart because after Delta exits the market, the German city will no longer be connected with the U.S. with nonstop flights.
Delta has been flying to Stuggart for more than two decades. This business-focused route connected Mercedes Benz's and Porsche's U.S. headquarters in Atlanta with their main offices in Germany. Delta suspended the route from March 2020 until March 2023 due to the pandemic, and now it's being scrapped for good.
The airline explained the cut with the following statement: "Delta will discontinue service to and from Stuttgart on October 26, 2024, as we adapt our schedule to align with consumer demand. Delta customers will have access to and from Stuttgart through Delta partners Air France and KLM. Delta's service at Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin will continue."
This marks Delta's second noteworthy cut in Germany in recent months. Last year, the airline cut flights to Dusseldorf, leaving another German city disconnected from the U.S. with a nonstop link. (German carrier Condor plans just four one-off flights from New York to Dusseldorf this September and October, Cirium schedules show.)
In addition to the long-haul adjustments, Delta will end flights between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Bogota, Colombia's El Dorado International Airport (BOG) later this year. The airline says the cut is being made "as we adjust our schedule to align with consumer demand."
Though the airline will no longer serve Bogota from New York, it will continue to offer twice-daily flights to the city from its Atlanta hub.
Travelers can also fly to Bogota via Delta's joint venture partner, LATAM, which offers twice-daily service from Miami and daily service from Orlando to the Colombian capital.
Delta first started flying this route in December 2008, Cirium schedules show. The airline has operated the route pretty consistently since then, aside from two brief suspensions — one from 2016 to 2019 and another during the pandemic from March 2020 until December 2020.
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