Donald Trump, the current President of the US, has taken to social media to praise Delta Air Lines for adopting some of his government’s vocabulary adjustments. Most notably, the Atlanta-based US ‘big three’ legacy carrier and 
SkyTeam founding member will now refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the ‘Gulf of America.’
The changes appear to have been shared in a company memo that also notes that ‘Notice to Air Missions’ will be henceforth referred to as ‘Notice to Air Men’ at Delta Air Lines. While Donald Trump was quick to laud Delta Air Lines for ’embracing MAGA,’ the carrier has confirmed that the alterations are not a political statement.
All Change
In a post shared on Truth Social, the social media platform of which Donald Trump is a majority owner, the current President of the US shared an image of a Delta Air Lines memo that was reportedly sent by a Captain at Delta Air Lines. As the Californian radio station 790 KABC notes, the document in question is said to be a ‘Revision Highlights Airway Manual’ that underlines recent changes at the carrier.
The first of the alterations dictates that the Gulf of Mexico will be henceforth referred to as the ‘Gulf of America’ in Delta Air Lines communications. While Trump’s post asserts that “I think they are finally embracing MAGA” in reference to the changes, News Max notes that, per a Delta spokesperson, the alterations are merely an example of federal compliance rather than a political statement. They said that:
“Those changes were mandated by the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration].”
NOTAM Reversal
As noted in the table below, a second vocabulary alteration was also highlighted in Delta Air Lines’ latest memo, namely one pertaining to what the letters of NOTAM stand for. Historically speaking, this term was taken to mean ‘Notice To Air Men,’ but was changed to ‘Air Missions’ in 2021 in the interest of gender neutrality.
|
Delta’s Vocabulary Revisions |
|
|---|---|
|
Old |
New |
|
Gulf of Mexico |
Gulf of America |
|
Notice to Air Missions |
Notice to Air Men |
Regardless of an aviation regulator’s chosen definition for the term, NOTAMs serve as a means of alerting pilots of potential hazards along certain routes or in certain locations. They play a key role in keeping the skies of the world safe, and, in January 2023, US flights faced disruption when the country’s NOTAM system went down.
The FAA’s terminology change from ‘Air Men’ to ‘Air Missions’ in 2021 was met with praise from progressive circles and criticism from the conservative angle, although the alteration had no impact on an operational level. In any case, when Trump came to power at the start of 2025, this change was swiftly reversed. Elsewhere, the UK CAA now refers to NOTAMs as ‘Notices to Aviation’ rather than ‘Air Men.’
Trump Is Rolling Back Other Biden-Era Aviation Policies
Away from raw terminology, Donald Trump’s government has made various other changes impacting the world of aviation in the United States of America since his administration came to power at the start of the year. Indeed, these alterations are still being implemented now, with one such change announced yesterday.
Indeed, as reported by Simple Flying, the Trump administration has opted not to carry forward a proposal submitted at the end of the Biden era that concerns passenger compensation in the event of long delays. Under the plan, US airlines would have been federally obligated to provide passengers with cash rebates when delays reached a certain threshold, as well as, if needed, food and accommodation.
However, when initially proposed, the plan faced skepticism from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which said that giving passengers cash rebates in the event of delays would do little to combat operational disruption. Airlines also warned that it could drive fares up, or incentivize cancellations. As such, the decision to withdraw the plan was welcomed by groups like Airlines for America.
