Delta CEO Says Airline Is Expecting More Than 5 Million Travelers for Thanksgiving Week

Delta Air Lines is expecting more than 5 million travelers to take to the skies with the carrier over the Thanksgiving holiday week, and its CEO says the airline is ready for the crowds.

Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian said the airline was “absolutely prepared” for the holiday rush in an interview with the Today Show on Tuesday. His remarks follow a summer that saw widespread chaos fueled by a combination of staffing shortages and air traffic control issues. As a result, several airlines cut back schedules to minimize disruptions, including Delta. To that end, Bastian said the airline has hired 25,000 people since the start of last year.

“Delta is known for its high quality of service and the very best people in the industry, and we are ready,” Bastian said during the interview. “We’ve been, in fact, back since pretty much the second week of July running a high quality of reliability and service excellence that our customers expect. And that's going to continue.”