MANILA - US carrier Delta said on Friday it will resume flights to Seattle and Atlanta from Manila via Seoul starting January next year.

The flights to Seattle and Atlanta from Manila will be operated via Seoul-Incheon, Delta’s trans-Pacific hub with its joint venture partner Korean Air, it said.

The Incheon to Manila service will start on January 2, 2021 every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, while Manila to Incheon flights will begin on January 3, 2021 every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. The Incheon to Seattle and Atlanta are existing services.

"Since COVID-19 began, Delta has focused on offering customers the safest and cleanest experience possible. We are confident to welcome and serve our customers again via our industry-leading trans-Pacific hub in Seoul with our joint venture partner Korean Air," said Patricia Celis, Delta Country Manager for the Philippines.

The US airline said the Manila-Incheon route will be operated with its latest widebody aircraft Airbus A330-900neo, while the Incheon-Atlanta route continues to be operated with Delta's International flagship aircraft, Airbus A350-900.

The pandemic crippled the tourism and travel industries, and airline firms were not spared.

Hit with a collapse of demand, US airlines will end the year with the lowest number of workers since at least 1987, 90,000 fewer than when COVID-19 hit, an industry federation earlier said.

The number of passengers carried in the United States in recent weeks has remained 65 percent lower than the same period last year, the group added.

Airlines initially cut staff through early retirement and voluntary furloughs.

-with a report from Agence France-Presse

• U.S. airline CEOs renew request for more aid in letter to Congress

RELATED STORIES

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv