Delta Air Lines is the US’ second-largest long-haul operator in terms of passengers. In the 12 months to March 2026, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) shows that it carried 17.1 million such passengers. The airline’s average long-haul load factor was 84.9%.

Long-haul is defined as any nonstop service of at least 2,650 nautical miles (over 3,100 statute miles and about 5,000 kilometers) for the purpose of this analysis. Given Delta’s sheer size, such operations accounted for only 8.5% of the carrier’s total traffic. That was more than for American Airlines (5.9%) but not as much as for United Airlines (11.6%).

Delta’s 10 Long-Haul Routes With The Lowest Loads

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DOT data was used to analyze all of Delta’s routes of 2,650 nautical miles or more and with at least 4,000 round-trip passengers. They all operated at some point between April 2025 and March 2026. The airport pairs with the 10 lowest load factors are summarized in the following table and shown on the subsequent interactive map.

An airline’s load factor (which is technically the seat factor) is just one performance measure. It only tells one part of the picture, and therefore should not be considered in isolation. All of the following routes had load factors well below Delta’s long-haul average of 84.9%. However, it is always about how and why such results were achieved, with context usually critical to understanding. Most of the links have ended, begun, or resumed recently.

A Look At Delta’s Initial Results From Atlanta To Morocco

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Covering 3,778 nautical miles (6,997 km) each way, Delta’s first service to Marrakech left the US in late October 2025. Marrakech is one of Morocco’s most populous cities and is the country’s primary tourist destination. The launch came 12 months after United arrived in the city from Newark. Delta’s commencement marked the carrier’s return to North Africa after a 14-year absence. The SkyTeam member had previously operated to Cairo until 2011.

Delta serves Marrakech seasonally. A three-weekly operation on the 238-seat Boeing 767-400ER was primarily available, although the frequency rose to daily around Christmas and the New Year. The same frequency is planned for the upcoming winter, too, although the equipment will be swapped to the lower-capacity and slightly less premium, 216-seat 767-300ER .

Most new routes take time to develop, perhaps especially if they’re brand-new (ATL has not previously had scheduled flights to Morocco). That’s despite the financial and other incentives that underpin them. Such risk-sharing mechanisms help to encourage a new link to begin and then support it for a defined period.

Between October 2025 and March 2026, the DOT shows that Delta’s best month was in December. 6,915 round-trip passengers were transported, but due to more flights and thus capacity, the load factor fell month-on-month to 71.7%. The impact on the yield is unclear. The worst months were January (69.9%) and February (67.7%). February is usually a hard month for airlines. March did much better (78.4%).

Where Marrakech Passengers Went

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Recall that Delta transported 26,565 round-trip passengers between ATL and Marrakech between October 2025 and March 2026. Relating DOT data to booking information shows that approximately 74% of the passengers (nearly three in four) connected to another flight in ATL.

Around 6,900 passengers were local; they only flew between the two airports. Between October 2024 and March 2025, fewer than 1,000 passengers traveled. While the new figure is still low (it’ll never be a big market), Delta’s nonstop flights increased local traffic considerably.

Connecting traffic was critical to filling the aircraft, although about 64 seats on each flight were empty (it is unclear in which cabins). The ten most popular markets to/from Marrakech were Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Palm Beach, Sarasota, Tampa, New York, Fort Lauderdale, and Fort Myers.