ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines Inc. is once again operating flights between the United States and China — but with no passengers on board.
Atlanta-based Delta on Monday began limited "cargo-only" service between Detroit and Shanghai. Without passengers on the flights, they instead will be deployed to provide "safe transportation of essential goods using aircraft that would otherwise be parked," according to a news release.
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The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports flights will leave Detroit every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday for the foreseeable future, with return legs from Shanghai every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Delta says it "will evaluate increasing to daily flights or explore opening additional U.S. gateways, depending on demand."
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Delta, along with all other commercial passenger airlines, has seen its business crushed by the novel coronavirus pandemic. On Jan. 31, it announced all flights between the U.S. and China would be temporarily suspended. As the COVID-19 outbreak spread globally, Delta quickly reduced flight capacity. On March 20, chief executive officer Ed Bastian said in a memo to employees its capacity would fall by 70% in the coming months. On March 27, President Donald Trump signed a $2 trillion dollar stimulus packaged that aims to soften the economic blow dealt by COVID-19. The airline industry will receive roughly $58 billion.
Read the full story on the Atlanta Business Chronicle.