Half Empty

Delta to Limit Planes to 60% Capacity Through July, Report Says

Airline set to extend existing capacity policy for another month as it seeks to tempt flyers back into the air.

Delta will limit passenger numbers on its planes to 60 percent of capacity through July, adding more flights where necessary, it is reported today. Although the airline has not conformed the report, the move would extend a policy it initially announced through June as airlines try to figure out how to get people flying again in the post-COVID world. In the United States, the chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last week urged airlines to maintain at least one seat between all passengers and cap seating at 67 percent of capacity on narrow-body airplanes. The global industry’s main group, IATA, has said that airlines will not be able to make a profit if they limit airplanes to two-thirds of their normal capacity, unless they drastically increase airfares.