Delta Airlines cancels flights between South Bend and Detroit

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - It looks like South Bend travelers will have to motor to the “Motor City,” if they want to fly out of Detroit in the future.

Daily flights between South Bend and Detroit will cease next month.

Michelle Boyd with Signal Travel makes her living making reservations but today, she couldn’t book a seat to save her life-- on a flight from South Bend to Detroit --beyond November 8th.

“Not surprised you know. Since COVID, things have changed. Staffing has become difficult for some of the airlines, and I’m very sad because the flights have been full and I think (hate) to see this service cut back,” she said.

South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jeff Rea added that he flies Delta through Detroit when he visits Washington D.C. and other east coast destinations and that he has since day one, “I can’t remember not having a Detroit flight.”

Today, in a written statement, South Bend International Airport CEO and President Mike Daigle said, “While no airport wants to receive news of a service reduction, we are not surprised by Delta’s decision to pull back the Detroit route effective November 9.”

He goes on to point out, “passengers can still travel with Delta through their hubs in Atlanta and Minneapolis, both of which continue to operate daily at SBN.”

“The airlines are going to focus on places where they can maximize their dollars, and get more, get bigger planes and make more money on the routes and such and so that’s a potential downside for smaller airports you know like ours,” added Jeff Rea.

While Michelle Boyd is sad about what she does know, she’s apprehensive about what might happen next. “We hope that no one else is going to cut back. I mean, these flights are full out of South Bend. They’re boarding several thousand passengers a day so we have a very robust airport, and the cutbacks will discourage people from using it. I don’t like to see that.”

Daigle adds that South Bend service on Allegiant, American, and United remains unchanged.

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