Delta 'Patriots' Day' flights coming to 7 Florida airports, including this new one

Date:2025-08-04 22:14:52 Category:US Views:1 Comment:0

Get ready for a Boston invasion next year. Delta Air Lines wants to help Bostonians enjoy their long Patriots' Day weekend in 2026 with 40 new nonstop flights to 10 U.S. "iconic leisure destinations," and seven of them are in Florida. For the first time, that includes Panama City.

“Patriots’ Day is a uniquely Boston celebration, and we’re excited to offer nearly 6,000 additional seats on flights out of Boston to give our customers even more ways to make the most of the long weekend,” said Amy Martin, Vice President – Network Planning in a release.

Additional capacity for Patriots' Day will be added from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) on April 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 and 26 to Panama City, Jacksonville, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Pensacola, Fort Myers and Sarasota, along with Charleston and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia.

Delta in the news, but not for good things

The announcement comes as the Atlanta-based airline is under fire after announcing it would begin using AI-based revenue management technology, which led to a public backlash over fears Delta would use AI to set individual prices per traveler based on what they could afford. Delta told Democratic senators in a letter Aug. 1 that there were no plans to target customers with individualized prices, Reuters reported.

Delta, like many other airlines this year, has had some problems. Most recently:

On July 30, a Delta flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam was diverted to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after encountering "significant turbulence" that bounced passengers around the cabin and sent 25 people to hospitals
Two days earlier, a Delta pilot was taken into custody after landing in San Francisco and arrested on child sexual assault charges
On July 21, a Delta flight to Atlanta made an emergency landing in Los Angeles after the aircraft's left engine caught fire
282 passengers and 13 crew members were stranded on a volcanic Portuguese island for 29 hours when a flight from Spain to New York was forced to land July 6
Just in Florida, an Atlanta-Fort Lauderdale flight in July made an emergency landing after a personal battery caught fire, and, in June, a Delta flight to Orlando was forced to make an emergency landing in Jacksonville

Delta drops Basic Economy with new fare structure

Like several other airlines this year, Delta has changed its ticketing options. The company announced in May it was folding the base fare into its new Delta Main category (previously called Main Cabin) for flights departing Oct. 1 or later, changing Delta Comfort+ to Delta Comfort and First Class to Delta First. Premium Select, the airline’s international-style premium economy service, and its Delta One business class are keeping their names.

Spirit Airlines and Southwest Airlines also reworked their fare structures this year.

Delta increasing Florida flights

The Atlanta-based airline also added new nonstop flights to Detroit from Pensacola and Destin-Fort Walton to Detroit in June, twice-daily nonstop service from Austin to Panama City in March and year-round nonstop service from Austin to Jacksonville in May. Service to Tampa is scheduled to begin in June. Service between Austin and Orlando will increase to twice daily this winter during peak travel season, the company said.

Delta also plans to offer new daily flights starting Nov. 6 between the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in Panama City and LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York.

In February, Delta announced the airline was adding three new domestic routes on December 20, including one between Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC).

What is Patriots' Day?

Patriots' Day isn't "uniquely" a Boston or Massachusetts holiday, although they certainly celebrate it more than anyone else. It's also been an official public holiday in Florida since 1976. The holiday is also recognized in Maine, Connecticut, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Patriots' Day recognizes the battles of Lexington and Concord as well as the aftermath of the "shot heard 'round the world" and the beginning of the American Revolution.

The day is celebrated with historical reenactments, sporting events, parades, and, in Massachusetts, a Red Sox game and the Boston Marathon. The date was originally April 19 (as it still is, in Florida, Wisconsin and Tennessee) but was changed in the others to the third Monday of April.