The Lincoln Airport, which already has seen its passenger numbers crater because of COVID-19, is about to take another hit.
Delta Air Lines, one of the two airlines serving the airport, received permission last week from the U.S. Department of Transportation to temporarily stop service to Lincoln and several other cities, at least until Sept. 30.
Delta already had cut its daily flight to Atlanta from its Lincoln schedule but still has been providing service to Minneapolis. As part of the more than $5.4 billion in aid it received from the federal government, Delta was required to keep a minimum level of service, as were other airlines receiving aid.
However, the department last week approved exemptions for Delta and 14 other airlines to cut service at certain airports, provided that the airports would maintain other commercial air service.
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In addition to Lincoln, Delta will be cutting service in 10 other smaller cities, including Peoria, Illinois; Flint, Michigan; and Erie, Pennsylvania.
United Airlines, which will continue providing service in Lincoln, is cutting service to 11 cities, including Chattanooga, Tennessee; Lansing, Michigan; and Rochester, Minnesota. Overall, the 15 airlines are cutting service to about 70 cities.
The Lincoln Airport is the only one in Nebraska affected by the cuts.
Elizabeth Wolf, a Delta spokeswoman, said in an email that the service suspensions are "an effort to reduce costs and reduce employee exposure while customer traffic is very low."
Last month, Delta had 318 passengers in Lincoln, a 97% decline from April 2019. Despite reducing its capacity by more than 70% compared with a year ago, it only filled 10% of its seats.
United did even worse, seeing a 98% drop in passengers and only filling 8% of its seats.
Together, the two airlines had 705 Lincoln passengers in April, less than their combined daily average.
Lincoln Airport Executive Director David Haring said passenger numbers have improved in May, nearly doubling over the April numbers, but he does not see that as signs of a recovery.
"That doubling is more reflective of the historic magnitude of the decline than signs of a recovery," Haring said in an email. "At the peak of the decline (in) April, traffic at (the airport) was down approximately 97%. We are now down about 93%-95%."
Delta has not yet said when its last day in Lincoln will be. The Transportation Department has set a deadline of Wednesday for filing objections to the service cuts. Haring said Lincoln flights are still on Delta's schedule for June, but he said he expects those to be removed soon.
"We will move quickly to implement these changes to our network and work to re-accommodate customers," Wolf said. "We sincerely appreciate their patience as we navigate this unprecedented time together."