Delta has warned the U.S. Commerce Department that it may stop buying foreign-made aircraft as a result of new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
According to Reuters, the airline told the Commerce Department that, if it had not been able to obtain aircraft from manufacturers in Canada, France, and Germany in 2023 and 2024, it would have had to cut flights serving up to 10 million passengers. For comparison, Delta served a total of 200 million passengers last year.
The airline anticipates a “similar impact” going forward if buying from foreign companies becomes too costly, the filing said.
Aside from U.S.-based Boeing, Delta currently uses aircraft produced by Europe’s Airbus, Canada’s Bombardier, and Brazil’s Embraer.
The Trump administration has placed a baseline 10% tax on imports from certain countries, including some of the United States’ biggest trading partners. Some nations, like China, face a higher tariff, and certain industries, like aluminum and automobiles, are being taxed at a rate above the 10% baseline regardless of where they are situated.
The new rules have the potential to seriously disrupt the aviation industry, which relies on aircraft and parts produced by a large number of companies distributed around the world.
Earlier this week, Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, announced it was temporarily dropping flights flown by its Horizon Air subsidiary because it could not take delivery of two Embraer E175s.
The Commerce Department has also moved to block the flow of aerospace technology to China. In May, it paused the sale of CFM International’s LEAP 1-C engine to Chinese airplane maker Comac, which has no other way to power its upcoming narrowbody C919.
