Delta Will Carry Cargo In Cabin After FAA Approval: Coronavirus

ATLANTA, GA — Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines will be the first U.S. airline to receive federal clearance to carry cargo in its overhead bins. The airline is repurposing passenger planes due to the drop in travel because of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Delta has received permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to use the overhead bin space of wide-body jets for cargo to help boost capacity on the airline’s new cargo-only flights.

The FAA regulates what and how cargo is placed in the cabin. There are both logistical and safety considerations, such as weight shifts, which can lead to crashes, reports the AJC. The airlines need to make sure that the cabin fixtures aren’t damaged by the cargo.

Delta also says it wants to look into other ways to transport more goods in cabins, such as removing seats. That would need FAA approval as well.

About 85 percent of Delta’s flight schedule has been cut and there are hundreds of unused passenger planes.

Chinese suppliers have had to find other ways to ship their goods to the United States since airlines have been suspending passenger flights to Asia.

Delta launched this month a cargo-only service on Boeing 777 and Airbus A350 passenger planes to carry medical equipment and other goods from Asia to cities like Atlanta, Detroit and Los Angeles.

The FAA told airlines this month that they can seek to use passenger planes to carry cargo only.

“It is an extraordinary situation, however, for an entire passenger cabin to be loaded with cargo,” the FAA document says. “Passenger cabins are not designed for an all-cargo configuration.”