Delta Air Lines has made this announcement:

Soaring floor-to-ceiling windows with runway views, thoughtful interior touches, regional artwork and a central, mezzanine-level location are just a few of the highlights that guests can look forward to in Delta’s newest Club.

Opening June 23 in Broward County’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), the new Delta Sky Club is among the latest enhancements to open for guests in Terminal 2, which is nearing the completion of a multi-year modernization project. The $153 million modernization project, expected to be substantially completed this fall, will include a 33,000 square-foot terminal expansion with new waiting areas and seating, more dining and shopping options, and security checkpoint enhancements, among other upgrades.

The Club is also one of the first Delta Sky Club locations to safely reintroduce its signature hot food offerings after suspending those options at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fresh and healthy fare will include breakfast favorites, regional specialties and an all-day selection of soups, salads, sandwiches, quick snacks and indulgent desserts. The Club’s award-winning beverage program will offer a rotating selection of seasonal, premium cocktails for guests over 21 to enjoy from the bar.

With the support and guidance of Delta’s Chief Health Officer, the continued mask requirement and increasing vaccination rates nationwide, hot food items in self-serve food stations will roll out to additional Clubs in stages, beginning with Delta’s hub locations and the newly opened Fort Lauderdale Club. A phased roll-out for the entire network will continue through the end of the year, in adherence to local and state regulations.

As Delta Sky Clubs begin to look more familiar to guests, they can rest assured knowing guest health and safety is at the forefront of every decision. Delta Sky Clubs continue to wipe down high-touch areas, offer hand sanitizer dispensers and require employees and guests to wear face masks at all times, in accordance with federal law. Clubs will also supply gloves as an optional layer of protection for guests at self-serve food stations.

With the opening of the Fort Lauderdale Club, all of Delta’s Clubs will be reopened by the end of June. After relaxing in Delta’s newest Club, South Florida travelers can catch one of Delta’s 32 average daily departures from Fort Lauderdale to 10 cities, including eight Delta stations that offer onward connections: Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Raleigh Durham, Salt Lake City and new daily service to Los Angeles. To explore destinations and deals, check out the Delta Discover Map.

Delta Air Lines is working quickly to increase staffing in Reservations and Customer Care, Airport Customer Service and Cargo, Flight Operations and Tech Operations in support of customers’ speedy return to travel.

Reservations and Customer Care has handled record-breaking customer volumes all year, reaching 96 percent of 2019 levels as more leisure travelers return to the skies and need assistance. With staffing that was diminished by 50 percent when Delta people took voluntary early retirement or separation packages that helped the airline survive pandemic-driven challenges in 2020, call wait times have caused customer frustration. The Res & Care team is working quickly to return to service excellence levels that customers expect.

Res & Care will have 1,300 Reservation specialists trained and ready to serve customers by fall. The division will also welcome back about 200 Delta alumni in short-term contractor roles by the end of July to deliver the Delta Difference, as only Delta people can. The team has also contracted with a trusted travel agency partner to assist with customer service messaging over the next several months. Res & Care continues to partner with teams across the company to quickly diagnose tech issues and find real-time solutions to optimize the customer experience.

Delta encourages customers to delay calling if their travel need is not urgent or if their departure date is more than a week away. Instead of calling, customers can also use delta.com and the Fly Delta app to change or cancel a flight, find baggage information, manage SkyMiles® and more. A recent update to the self-service option within the app now allows customers to select and change an existing trip within 24 hours of departure using Same-Day change and browse from an array of alternative flight options.

Airport Customer Service and Cargo hiring has been underway for several weeks with more than 200 hiring events resulting in 2,000 new hires on board and another 1,200 hires in the recruitment pipeline, who are expected to start with Delta very soon. Additionally, nearly 1,200 positions are being recruited to support Global Cleanliness in key locations, including Atlanta, Detroit and Salt Lake City. The division is also supplementing key customer service issues such as wheelchair staffing. They’re continuing to discuss staffing levels with our partners – TSA, FAA, ATC – to provide our customers with a positive  experience across the travel journey.

Also, effective July 1, ACS and Cargo will sunset the Ready Reserve program, transitioning 7,000 people to CSA benefit-eligible roles and creating more flexible staffing options with an employee group that can work 20-40 hours based on operational demand.

Flight Operations will begin hiring pilots beginning this month, starting with candidates who currently hold conditional job offers from before the COVID-19 pandemic and have already been through our screening and interview process. Delta plans to hire more than 1,000 pilots before next summer, supporting Delta’s efforts to grow our domestic and global network to meet customer demand.

Flight Operations also announced the reopening of the application for Propel Advance – Delta’s pilot career path program for employees who wish to pursue a career as a pilot.

In-Flight Services will begin recruiting and hiring in Fall 2021. Additionally, about 1,300 Flight Attendants are returning from LOAs/PLOCs this October. With these additions, we will see the lowest schedule values in nearly a decade. Additionally, the division plans to bring back more than 1,600 candidates who were previously in training or had a conditional job offer prior to the pandemic.

Tech Ops plans to hire as many as 1,000 new mechanics, technicians and other team members by the end of 2021 to support the growing operation – ensuring that Delta continues to lead the industry in on-time arrivals and zero-cancellation days. The roles are a combination of operational and support roles for the TechOps division, including merit, Technician and related positions within Avionics, Maintenance Operations and Engineering. The airline is also hiring for positions that support its MRO business and subsidiary businesses, Delta Flight Products and Delta Material Services – all in an effort to continue delivering the world-class products and experience customers have come to know and love from Delta.

From CNBC:

“Delta Air Lines told staff on Monday that it expects to hire more than 1,000 pilots by next summer, the latest move by an airline to cater to a rebound in travel demand.

Delta in April said it would resume hiring midyear as bookings began to recover from the coronavirus pandemic slump, starting with about 75 pilots from June through August.”

Read the full article: Delta hiring 1,000 pilots by next summer as travel demand returns (cnbc.com)

In other news, Delta has announced flights to Amsterdam, Lisbon and Frankfurt are now open to U.S. travelers:

Beautiful Groenburgwal canal in Amsterdam with the Soutern church (Zuiderkerk) at sunset in summer |

• The Netherlands, Germany and Portugal reopen to U.S. travelers
• Delta operating more flights to Amsterdam than any other U.S. airline
• Italy eliminates COVID-tested travel protocol; fully vaccinated travelers can enter without additional requirements
• See full schedule for open Europe destinations

After more than a year of restrictions on international travel, Europe is reopening for U.S. leisure and other non-essential travelers – with the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal being the latest countries to welcome back those seeking new adventures or reconnecting with loved ones.

Beginning June 24, the Netherlands will open to all U.S. travelers without testing, vaccination, or quarantine requirements. Portugal announced its reopening on June 15, requiring travelers to present a negative 72-hour PCR/NAAT test or a negative 24-hour antigen test upon entry.

Italy has also eased its entry requirements alongside Germany – customers can provide either proof of vaccination, a negative antigen/PCR/molecular test result within 48 hours from arrival or proof of COVID-19 recovery. As such, Delta has ended its pioneering COVID-testing protocol for all Italy flights effective June 21, and upcoming flights will now follow the standard entry requirements.

Customers venturing across the pond can easily connect to Delta’s Amsterdam hub with over 50 weekly flights from nearly every U.S. hub by July 7: Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK, Seattle and Salt Lake City – making Delta the largest U.S. airline serving the Netherlands. Delta’s longtime partnership with KLM has also helped the airline maintain AMS service since the beginning of the pandemic, keeping a vital gateway open for essential travelers connecting across Europe.

On Aug. 1, Delta returns to Lisbon with daily service from New York-JFK, more than a year since pausing flights due to COVID-19.

Delta will also continue operating nonstop daily service between Atlanta and Frankfurt. Customers can connect from almost 150 U.S. cities to Delta’s largest hub, providing multiple opportunities for a one-stop departure to Germany’s busiest airport.

Open Destinations in Europe

Here’s a snapshot of the European destinations that are currently open or that will open throughout the summer to vaccinated travelers and/or travelers with negative tests. See Delta’s Return to International Travel page for details specific to each destination

Flights to Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain are operated in partnership with Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic. Our flights to Italy are operated in conjunction with Alitalia. This schedule, including routes and frequency, remains subject to change.

Delta Discover Map

As the European Union takes steps toward reopening borders, it is up to individual member countries to decide when and how to lift their restrictions. Customers are encouraged to review entry requirements, including whether a vaccination certificate or negative COVID-19 test is required, on the Delta Discover Map or check the official government website of their destination country.