ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) — Delta Airlines is ending its Rochester-Detroit flights at Rochester International Airport this spring.

The new Airport Director at RST, John Reed, said the final flight to Detroit will be on April 9. A new Minneapolis flight will take the Detroit flight’s place after that date.

Reed said Delta informed him via email last Tuesday, his second day on the job, that the change was happening. Delta says the change is partly due to a pilot shortage. Delta told Reed it was reallocating its resources. Reed said this change is a simple business decision on Delta’s part, and that ultimately these kinds of changes are up to each carrier.
Reed looked at the numbers, and said the load levels on the Detroit flight weren’t that bad. He says flights were 75% full on average.

Delta Airlines launched the Detroit flight out of RST in early September. It was the first time Delta offered a direct flight from Rochester to Detroit since 2011. It was that November when Delta last canceled its Rochester-Detroit flights.

Despite the change coming so early in the new director’s time at RST, Reed is keeping his head high. He is encouraging the community to reinforce support for the Atlanta flight that Delta started offering in conjunction with the Detroit flight this past September. He says loads on that flight are around 79% on average. He also voices the importance of having a flight from Rochester to another major hub in the country.