About 100 Delta Air Lines pilots demonstrated Thursday morning at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to protest scheduling practices that have caused them to fly record overtime and long trips with less rest between them.
Delta Air Lines pilots picket at MSP for improved schedules
The airport is the sixth Delta hub where pilots have picketed as contract talks are underway.
April 21, 2022 at 7:32PM
Their union, Air Line Pilots Association, International, which is currently in contract negotiations with Atlanta-based Delta, said it wants to send a clear message to management that pilots are demanding improvements to schedules.
Jason Ambrosi, chairman of the pilots union, said they want to work together with the company to find common-sense solutions and acknowledged that the carrier is hiring hundreds more pilots as travel ramps up.
"Our pilots have been front-line leaders throughout the pandemic and have stepped up and taken record amounts of overtime on their days off as well as working longer days with shorter rest periods in between," Ambrosi said.
He noted that a lot of pilots took early retirement during the pandemic, when Delta and other airlines sharply reduced schedules amid broader lockdowns and closures around the world.
"Now they're scheduling the airline more than they have the pilots to fly," Ambrosi said.
Morgan Durrant, a spokeswoman for Delta, said the company is grateful for employees' hard work, including the pilots, to restore the airline.
"Pilot schedules remain in line with all requirements set by the FAA as well as those outlined in our pilot contract," she said in an e-mail.
Delta is the dominant carrier at MSP. The demonstration was the sixth by pilots at one of Delta's hubs in this round of contract negotiations.
The picketers were pilots who were on their day off. Some carried signs that read: "If I look tired, it's because I am."
With travel rebounding, Delta recently said it is now above 70% of its pre-pandemic flight schedule at MSP. It restarted daily service to and from London Heathrow at the airport last week. Executives said the carrier will reach pre-pandemic operating levels by next year at MSP.
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