Why Delta Air Lines' Quiet Exit From Minneapolis Marks The End Of The DC-9 Era In America

Delta Air Lines ended all Boeing 717 service at Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport on May 6, 2026, ending more than a decade of the aircraft’s presence at MSP and closing the DC-9 family’s local chapter. The T-tail silhouette that had appeared for roughly 60 years under Northwest and later Delta is now gone. Delta inherited DC-9 aircraft through its 2008 merger, retired them in 2014, and replaced them with 717s acquired from Southwest. Data from Cirium shows Delta flew just 59 MSP 717 flights in the first six days of May, serving four destinations with about 6,500 seats. The drawdown was rapid, with routes pulled one by one in early 2026 and replaced mainly by Airbus A220-100 narrowbodies.