Delta doubles flight attendant hiring target to 3,000

Delta Tuesday said it plans to hire another 1,500 flight attendants ahead of summer 2022, becoming the latest carrier to add jobs after travel demand rebounded from pandemic lows. The Atlanta-based airline was already in the process of filling 1,500 flight attendant jobs with candidates whose hiring was paused at the start of the pandemic in 2020. Delta and other airlines have been racing to fill positions from ramp workers to flight attendants to customer service agents, as well as training pilots, this summer during a surge in travel. The recovery in demand came faster than airline executives said they expected. Airline CEOs urged thousands of employees to take unpaid or partially paid leaves of absence or early retirement packages to cut labor costs in the depths of the pandemic. About 4,000 Delta flight attendants accepted voluntary separation packages. Delta in May said all new employees must be vaccinated against Covid and said Tuesday that any current Delta employee who is accepted to the flight attendant training program must also be inoculated.<br/>