Delta Resumes Flights to Brazil

The daily Delta traffic to Sao Paulo, Brazil, restarted as early as June 2020, but these Atlanta hub routes were only for cargo flights. The cargo-only restriction was due to the surge of COVID-19 in the South American country. A few days before Valentines Day, however, this restriction was lifted.

Read on to find out more about these routes, and why the airliner is resuming the service.

Flights to Brazil Resume at JFK

The routes that will resume are those between John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Guarulhos International Airport (GRU). That means a flight from New York to Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The aforementioned passenger flights are to be conducted four times a week in Boeing 767-400s.

According to Luciano Macagno, Managing Director at Delta, “The return of Delta’s service between New York and Sao Paulo reconnects these two great cities and provides customers with a safer travel experience”.

Macagno continues, “Delta is ensuring that those customers who need to travel can do so with ease and peace of mind, knowing that the safety of our customers and our employees is Delta’s priority.”

Delta’s New App

Delta has also launched a new interactive map that is powered by Smartvel. This app outlines flight paths, as well as the following informatoin:

• Up-to-date travel restrictions

• Quaratine requirements

• Local COVID-19 guidelines

• Details on which forms and applications are needed by location

The flexible travel guide also informs travelers of testing locations in the United States.

This information is critical for those reentering the U.S. because a negative COVID-19 test is required to do so.

As for Brazil, the return of passenger flights is an indicator the Brazilian market is expanding. Thanks to this development, more cargo shipments can also be sent in on a regular basis, which is vital for COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Latin America.

What This Means For Pilots

Earlier this year, Delta announced that 400 pilots are to be retrained in preparation for the upcoming summer launch. To ensure these aircraft operators have routes to fly, Delta needs to open additional passenger routes. Due to this, pilots can likely anticipate being offered routes to former COVID-19 hotspots. As to which routes resume and in what order, the scheduling may be rather slow at first as vaccines are distributed.

However, once the amount of vaccinated citizens grows to roughly half the population, an increase in flight reopenings within a short amount of time may be feasible.