DELTA AIRLINES IS CONTINUING TO PROVIDE MORE SPACE ON BOARD AS THE ONLY U.S. AIRLINE TO BLOCK MIDDLE SEATS AND LIMIT CAPACITY ON ALL FLIGHTS DEPARTING THROUGH APRIL 30, 2021.

The empty-middle seat between passengers protocol began in August 2020 as COVID-19 protections on flights, including a mask requirement and filtered air.

“We want our customers to have complete confidence when traveling with Delta, and they continue to tell us that more space provides more peace of mind,” said Bill Lentsch, Chief Customer Experience Officer, in a press release. “We’ll continue to reassess seat blocking in relation to case transmission and vaccination rates while bringing back products and services in ways that instill trust in the health and safety of everyone on board – that will always be Delta’s priority.”

Last week, a man said he suggested spreading passengers out with empty seats on a flight leaving the Salt Lake City International Airport, which led to him being removed from the plane. The incident happened on a Delta flight from Salt Lake City to St. Louis.

According to Delta Airlines, the rows ahead of most of the passengers were in a different class, and the flight crew could not move them between classes.

Details on Delta’s seat blocking policy can be found here.

In addition to extending seat blocking, Delta is taking other steps to reduce the overall number of people on board flights:

Making it easier to understand testing requirements and get tested prior to travel, whether customers purchase an at-home test or find a nearby location for in-person testing, with more options on the way.

Creating an interactive travel map to help customers understand where Delta flies and the latest travel requirements or restrictions at their destination.
Streamlining travel by building a digital concierge to manage booking, test scheduling, and automatic document verification all in one place on delta.com and the Fly Delta app.

Deploying a dedicated team of clean ambassadors who will ensure a consistently safe and sanitized experience at more than 55 airports.

Expanding rapid testing centers to Delta’s hub airports in Minneapolis and Detroit, which follow other testing facilities at Atlanta, Boston, New York-JFK, and Seattle.
Delta Vacations selling only international hotels and resorts that offer in-hotel testing for travel through April 2021.

Through the Delta CareStandard, Delta has also put in place more than 100 layers of protection to ensure a safe travel experience, the airline stated in its press release.