Delta Air Lines is taking applications for flight attendant positions, with plans to hire 4,000-6,000 in-flight crew members next year.
As Atlanta-based Delta staffed back up for a recovery in air travel, the airline said it hired a record 4,300 flight attendants over the last year.
The company is again opening its flight attendant hiring window, taking applications online from people willing to work varied schedules — since Delta flights operate every day of the year, overnight, internationally and domestically.
Those interested must be at least 21, fully vaccinated, have a high school diploma or GED and speak English fluently.
Before COVID-19 caused a sharp drop in air travel, Delta had more than 90,000 employees. It cut back its staff when travel plummeted early in the pandemic, using buyouts and early retirements to reduce its headcount to about 75,000. Now, the airline has more than 80,000 employees, but is continuing to hire as it prepares for a fully restored flight schedule next summer.
Airlines have struggled through staffing issues this year as more travelers took to the skies. As part of the effort to bring on enough staff to handle flights, Delta has also been hiring thousands of pilots. The company recently said it would begin interviewing active-duty military pilots to make conditional job offers up to two years before their retirement date. Previously, Delta made such offers six months before military pilots’ retirement date.
Delta also this year stopped requiring that pilots it hires as first officers have college degrees, part of a broader move by the company since 2020 to improve diversity by removing barriers for jobs. The company said 94% of its non-executive job openings filled externally last year did not require a college degree — including flight attendant positions.
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