Delta Air Lines Cuts Food and Drink Service on 450 Short Daily Flights

Delta Air Lines passengers expressed frustration over changes to onboard service after the carrier announced it will eliminate food and beverage offerings on about 450 daily flights, roughly 9% of its network.

The policy takes effect May 19 and applies to flights of 349 miles or fewer, many lasting under an hour. "Delta is adjusting onboard beverage service to create a more consistent experience across our network," the airline said in a statement.

Customers in Delta Comfort and main cabin on flights of 350 miles and above will receive full beverage and snack service. Shorter flights will offer no food or drinks except in Delta First, which always gets full service.

On X, some travelers called the move nickel-and-diming and questioned the loss of basic drinks. Full service, including alcohol and multiple snacks, will remain on flights of 350 miles or more, about 14% of daily departures.

Shorter routes that had limited express service will lose it entirely. Delta said many affected flights, especially those under 250 miles, already had minimal or no service.

"Even on the small number of flights without beverage service, our crew will continue to be visible, available and focused on caring for our customers, like they do on every flight," the airline said.

New York travel expert Lee Abbamonte praised the change. "It's a reasonable decision," he told Fox News Digital. "Short flights don't need food and beverage — you're done in an hour and can easily plan ahead or just wait."

"Airlines have been cutting costs for years now, and it will only continue as fuel prices continue to rise and competition lessens," he added.

One Reddit post called it zero service. X users complained, with one asking, "They can’t even spot me those three pretzels?" Another said, "They’ll charge you for a $9 water but keep paying the big guy like a king."

A third wrote, "Airlines really out here squeezing every last dollar." One suggested airlines could charge for food to offset costs.

Others supported Delta. "A 350-mile flight is less than 45 minutes. I don’t know why anyone would worry about this at all," one X user said. "They can hardly serve the plane in the amount of time they have between takeoff and landing."

"It’s ridiculous to do a beverage service when you only have maybe 20 usable minutes. Half the plane gets served, and the other half write complaint letters when they don’t get served," another added. A third said, "On those shorter flights, it’s already a race to get everyone their small bag of chips. … Who cares?"