Delta Air Lines Sends Important Message to Travelers

Airlines have been turned upside down for the past week with delays and cancelations, and Delta Air Lines has an important message for travelers who are relying on them to get from one destination to another. Delta has officially announced that they're following a new directive from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), they stated in an update to customers on Tuesday, No. 11, at noon ET, and they have some details to share with passengers about what that means for them.

The Federal Aviation Administration is a U.S. federal government agency inside the U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation domestically and surrounding international waters. It's the "agency of the United States Department of Transportation responsible for the regulation and oversight of civil aviation within the U.S., as well as operation and development of the National Airspace System," Skybrary.com notes. "Its primary mission is to ensure safety of civil aviation."

In a release, Delta says that they're "complying with a directive from the FAA and the U.S. Department of Transportation to reduce flights at 40 major U.S. airports." The directive was first announced on the FAA's official website on Thursday, Nov. 6.

Delta Announces News for Passengers

In their Nov. 11 statement, Delta Air Lines said, "Delta’s operation is stable as our people care for customers who have experienced cancellations and delays as a result of Air Traffic Control constraints. As always, safety remains our top priority."

They added that the airline "expects to operate the vast majority of our flight schedule and continues to coordinate with the FAA. Additional delays and cancels may be necessary if Air Traffic Control constraints continue in the National Airspace System."

So, where does this leave travelers? Delta Air Lines says they're working to offer more flexibility for customers traveling to, from or through the impacted areas, so that the yare able to change, cancel or refund their flights without penalty during this travel period. To find travel waiver information, head to this page on Delta's site.

The airline is also encouraging customers to visit their website or check the Fly Delta app to check flight status or find new options.

The Number of Flights Being Canceled

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 1,200 flights within, into or going out of the U.S. had been canceled for the day, according to research and numbers from the data tracker FlightAware. The airline also had more than 2,000 delays as of 2 p.m. ET.

The FAA originally required the percentage of flights to be cut to increase to 6 percent from 4 percent at 40 major airports on Tuesday and also go up to 10 percent by Friday, Nov. 14.