ORLANDO, Fla. –

A Delta flight from Orlando landed safely in Atlanta after declaring an emergency because a part of the plane’s wing was missing.

The Federal Aviation Administration says Flight 2412, with 179 passengers and six crew members, landed without incident about 7:10 p.m. Sunday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The airplane, a Boeing 757, stopped on the runway and was towed to the gate.

After the flight landed, Delta officials told the FAA that a four-foot by eight-foot panel from one of the airplane’s wings was missing.

“Crew members aboard Flight 2412 reported an access panel had come off the plane’s wing while in flight,” said Delta spokesman Anthony Black.

The FAA is investigating.

There was no word from Delta on how many passengers were on the plane.

No injuries were reported.

Delta Air Lines announced Monday that it has launched a new, daily onnstop flight between Los Angeles International and Austin, Texas, to specifically connect the Silicon Beach startup community with the growing, technology community in Austin. According to Delta, the move–which is expected to start on June 16th–is part of an effort connect Los Angeles with all of the key, U.S. technology markets through its gateway at LAX. Delta said the serviec to Austin will be operated using Delta Boeing 717 aircraft. Delta says it will now connect the “growing Silicon Beach tech and startup community” with all of the major tech centers in the United States.

Delta flight at LAX via InSapphoWeTrust@Flickr.

Delta Airlines contract workers were flying high Thursday — a day before they were set to land fatter paychecks thanks to the Daily News.

The workers at Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports are expecting to see the proceeds of the $1-an-hour raises in their Friday checks.

RELATED: UNITED AIRLINES DROPS NEWARK AIRPORT JANITORIAL UNION FOR COMPANY THAT WILL PAY LOWER WAGES

“It’s a good first step,” said Prince Jackson, 56, a Kennedy Airport security guard who had been making $8 an hour. “I can get a MetroCard and maybe I can get cable television.”

Delta authorized the raises after the Port Authority sent a sternly worded letter to the area’s major airlines, imploring them to raise the pay of the 12,000 poorly paid contract workers at Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports. So far Delta is flying solo.

RELATED: MARK-VIVERITO URGES JETBLUE TO RAISE PAY

The Port Authority applied the pressure after the News launched its Fight for Fair Pay campaign to improve the wages of the underpaid workers.

Contract workers at Newark got a glimmer of hope this week when one of the New Jersey-appointed members of the Port Authority Board of Commissioners called for a “living wage.”

“All workers deserve a family-sustaining wage and benefits for their labor,” Raymond Pocino, vice president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, wrote in an open letter.

ATLANTA –

After Atlanta’s second big snow event this year, Delta airlines took preventative measures and canceled flights early.

Well-known radio personality Tom Sullivan says he remembers what he was thinking when Delta texted him a message that his flight was canceled.

“I don’t want to get stuck in San Francisco, one of our most expensive cities.”

So, he tried like thousands of other customers to rebook his flight.

“I tried to reach Delta. The lines were jammed,” he said.

In the Fox 5 newsroom we were hearing about airline customers with four-and five -hour hold times. We talked with an aviation expert who says this isn’t so unusual.

“When you have 10 or 12,000 people all trying to contact the airline at the same time things do break down. And there’s almost no way to get around that,” said Mike Boyd of the Boyd Group International.

Tom plugged away.

He said, “I logged into my Skymiles account. Tried to use the link they gave me to book another flight, and the links weren’t working.”

What he did next nearly cost him more than $1,000. You see, he booked two new tickets for himself and his traveling companion, on his own, outside of that rebooking system.

The good news: He got on a flight the next day, one day before the big February storm white washed Atlanta. The bad news: When Tom Sullivan requested a “full refund” for the rebooked tickets Delta Airlines response was ‘no’.

“When weather shuts an airport like Atlanta down, trust me, 80 percent of the passengers think it’s the airline’s fault and the airline owes me, which is not fair or accurate, but it’s reality,” Mike Boyd added.

But, if you really think you’re right, this aviation consultant says you should fight.

Mike Boyd said, “Don’t let up, but make sure you’re right and not just angry.”

Tom Sullivan kept pushing. He wrote the CEO. And a week later, his money for the rebooked flight was finally refunded. All of it.

With a big grin Tom Sullivan said, “They turned lemons into lemonade and I learned a really good lesson. Don’t book your own ticket when your flight is canceled.

Sullivan said he asked an agent what he was supposed to do. He says he was told if the phones are jammed, if the Web site isn’t working, and if you want to be sure, 100 percent sure, you’ll get a free, rebooked flight, you have to go to the airport and have one of their agents book the travel for you.

Still, despite the wait times and the computer issues, Mr. Boyd gives the airline an “A” grade for how it handled the situation.

Delta’s spokesman wouldn’t say whether Tom Sullivan made a right or wrong choice, but he did throw into the mix two more options. Make you have the Delta app on your phone for updates and try contacting the airline through Twitter @DeltaAssist.

Traders are landing in the airlines, with bullish three-way combination plays in Delta Airlines and United Continental.

The first action came in DAL this morning as more than 36,000 options traded, more than twice its daily average in the last month. optionMONSTER systems show that a trader bought 10,000 September 36 calls for the ask price of $3.45 and sold 10,00 each of September 42 calls for the bid price of $1.21 and the September 30 puts for the bid price of $1.69. Previous open interest was below 600 contracts at all three strikes, so this is a new combination trade.

Traders turned to UAL about 10 minutes later, also in the September expiration. This time it was blocks of 8,000, with the 48 calls bought for the ask of $5.80 while the 55 calls sold for $3.15 and the 38 puts sold for the bid price of $2.10. These too exceeded previous open interest.

In both cases the trader spent $0.55, which is the risk between the short puts and the lower long-call strike . The maximum gains come with the stocks at or above the higher strike prices. The trader faces the obligation to buy shares if they are below the put strike . (See our Education section)

DAL is up 0.59 percent to $35.58 after hitting a new all-time intraday high of $35.85 this morning. UAL is down 0.9 percent to $47.55.

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Despite the fact that US laws actively protect a mother’s right to nurse her baby in public, a spokesperson for Delta Airlines told Lindsay Jaynes that she would “not be able to breastfeed” without covering up first.

Ms Jaynes, from Newport Beach, California, had already made the airline aware of the difficulties she had trying to get her 10-week-old son to nurse with a cover or from a bottle – and what started out as an innocent inquiry for advice quickly spiralled into a full-blown online row.

On Friday, Ms Jaynes (@ClassicHippie) tweeted to the airline: “What’s your breast feeding policy? I’ll be flying with my 10wk old son and he won’t nurse with a cover or take a bottle. Thanks.”

She received a reply from Delta’s customer support team (@DeltaAssist) which said simply: “Lindsay unfortunately you are not able to breast feed if you don’t have a cover up. I’m sorry.”

Ms Jaynes asked what the airline proposed she do instead to feed her baby, at which point it suggested she bring bottled milk – despite her already telling them her son would not take a bottle.

Clearly frustrated with the response, she tweeted: “So even though I am legally allowed to breastfeed without a cover, you’re saying I can’t?” Delta did not initially respond.

Delta Airlines eventually apologised and said that it ‘welcomes breastfeeding mothers and babies on our flights’ (Getty Images)

The exchange prompted a torrent of replies and messages sent to the airline in support of Ms Jaynes, and of breastfeeding mothers in general.

A number of users also took to the Delta Facebook page where, with no post dedicated to the issue, they commented on other articles and left reviews like this one, from Kayll Bryant Welvaert, which said: “I think it is shameful to tell a mother she cannot breastfeed on a flight without a cover. Better training is needed!! I will never fly Delta again…. my boobs are for feeding my child, it’s really as simple as that.”

Delta eventually got back to Ms Jaynes and told her that it was a case of one employee who was not aware of the company’s policy on nursing.

“Delta welcomes breastfeeding mothers and babies on our flights. We sincerely apologize for the misinformation,” the airline tweeted.

Twin Falls, Idaho ( KMVT-TV / KSVT-TV ) Things are changing at Delta Airlines.

As of next year, the company will link miles earned to ticket prices instead of distance.

Spend more money on a ticket and earn more miles, regardless of how far you’re traveling.

“Now that will be based on the ticket prices. The more that you spend with the airlines, accordingly you’ll be rewarded with more points for your use,” explains airport manager Bill Carberry.

The program will reward elite travelers with added bonus miles depending on their status.

“They’ll be more seat availability, more options for folks with our SkyMiles program. Most of our flyers out here are SkyMiles members,” Carberry points out.

The program is an effort to woo business travelers, who spend significantly more per ticket than leisure travelers.

“As a business traveler, a lot of my travel is urgent, immediate, and me and my company have to pay a larger share, so I get the rewards for that. So from a selfish perspective, it makes sense,” says Jeff Wilson from Orange County, California.

While the program seems simple, read the fine print and it gets a little more complicated… as the entire ticket price will not count towards miles earned.

Delta does not take the added tax to the ticket into consideration.

This spring Joslin Field in Twin Falls will receive diverted air traffic from the Friedman Memorial Airport.

Friedman Memorial Airport will be closed for 25 days this spring for construction to meet federal safety standards.

Delta Airlines has announced a big change to its frequent flier program. The new SkyMiles program will reward those who spend the most money on tickets, rather than those who fly the most amount of miles.

According to The Associated Press, this new program is aimed towards business travelers who frequently make travel plans last minute and spend more money than leisure travelers who book trips in advance.

“Customers will be able to earn between five and 11 miles per dollar, based on their Skymiles status” a Delta statement said, reports CBS News.

The new program will take into effect on Jan. 1, 2015. Delta will be the first major airline to make a change like this, so it is probable that other airlines will wait to see the benefits before making any changes.

This may come as no surprise, as Delta previously announced in January 2013 that starting in 2014, passengers would have to spend at least $2,500 to meet the lowest level of frequent-flier status, instead of basing it off the amount of miles traveled.

“It appears that Delta is coming out and saying…the more money you spend, the more we are going to take care of you,” travel expert Tom Parsons said. “The airline is thinking, why not take care of the guys who give us $10,000 dollars a year and fly even less miles, than those who spend $5,000 dollars and fly more miles?”