A Look At Delta Air Lines' 17 International Routes Launching Soon

Delta Air Lines is the world’s second-largest operator by aircraft movements. In the final quarter of 2025, between October and December, the SkyTeam member will introduce or reintroduce 17 international routes. To qualify, none of them must have operated since 2021. While all of them have been announced, it is worth summarizing them. Some of them will make my Weekly Routes article (see the most recent edition).

Five of the 17 additions are long-haul, and not all of them have been served before. They include two African links, with Delta being the top US carrier to that vast continent. The remaining 12 international routes are short-haul, all of which are to Central America, the Caribbean, or Mexico, mainly for winter sun.

Delta Will Begin These 5 Long-Haul Routes Through December

Credit: GCMap

Most of the coming links are from Atlanta. As everyone knows, it is the world’s busiest airport by passenger traffic, Delta’s busiest hub, and a critical fortress hub. Some 79% of flights are operated by Delta.

The upcoming services include Atlanta to Berlin, whose inclusion is debatable. This is because it only exists to cater to fans traveling to watch the Atlanta Falcons take on the Indianapolis Colts in the German capital on November 9. It is not a normal, regular offering.

Perhaps the most interesting addition is Marrakech. When Delta touches down in the Moroccan airport, it’ll become the second US carrier (after United Airlines) and the third from North America (joining Air Transat, too). Until 2024, Marrakech—particularly famous for tourism—did not have any North American services.

These 12 Short-Haul Routes Are Coming

Credit: GCMap

All 12 routes will begin on the same day and are timed to coincide with travel for the Christmas period. Over half of them have been served before, mostly until 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The exception is New York JFK to Grand Cayman, which Delta served until nine years ago. Then, as now, it will run weekly. It’ll compete head-to-head with Cayman Airways and JetBlue.

Airport pairs new to Delta’s network include Detroit to Liberia, Costa Rica, which is the gateway to beaches, rainforests, and more. Booking data via OAG shows that more than 17,000 people flew between the two airports from August 2024 to July 2025. It was the Michigan airport’s second-largest unserved market in Central America, after San José.

According to the US Department of Transportation, Northwest’s A320s served Detroit-Liberia in 2001/2002, although it was short-lived. It is also mentioned on page six of Northwest’s schedule for the time. When Delta arrives in December, it’ll have four routes to the Costa Rican destination.

A Quarter Of The Short-Haul Services Are To Cancun

Credit: Vincenzo Pace 

Delta will add flights to the ever-popular Mexican resort destination from Austin, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Nashville. All but Austin have seen its frames before. They mean that it’ll have 14 routes to Cancun in the upcoming winter.

Between December 20 and 26, it plans 186 departures, with up to 30 daily services. Compared to the same week last year, outbound flights have jumped from 164 departures (+13%). Delta’s share of the total US-Cancun market has risen from 17% to 19%, although it still ranks third, behind American and United.