Delta requires customers to notify the airline prior to departure if they need to change or cancel their ticket, to retain the value of their ticket. If a customer is a no-show and does not notify their travel agent or Delta of a change or cancellation prior to their departure, they will forfeit the value of their ticket.

On October 8, 2025, Delta updated the No-Show Policy in its Contract of Carriage* to apply to all tickets, both refundable and non-refundable, in the event of a no-show. Beginning January 12, 2026, technology will be implemented to update the flight coupons when a customer no-shows their flight. Customers who do not proactively change or cancel before departure will lose the value of their ticket. 

*The update to the Domestic Contract of Carriage can be found under Rule 14: Cancellation of Reservations, Part C: Failure to Appear. International and Canada Contracts of Carriage were updated in 2024.

This policy will ensure that Delta can properly accommodate customers who are still planning to travel and to allow customers access to all available open seats if they want to book new or change existing reservations.

Delta’s No-Show Policy applies to:

• All DL-006 tickets, both redundable and non-refundable 
  • Policy updated to include refundable tickets issued on/after October 8, 2025
• All Points of Sale – Domestic and International Travel
  • “Domestic” means scheduled flights within and/or between the U.S. and U.S. Territories
  • “International” means scheduled flights to/from the U.S. or U.S. Territories and points outside of the U.S. and U.S. Territories
  • “U.S.” means the 50 states comprising the United States of America and the District of Columbia
  • “U.S. Territories” means Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam
• Itineraries that include DL-marketed flights
• Both wholly unused and partially flown tickets

Retaining Ticket Value

• To retain the value of their ticket, a customer will need to notify their Travel Agent or Delta directly that they would like to change or cancel their flight, prior to departure.
• A Travel Agent may then assist our mutual customers by changing the reservation and reissuing the ticket or by canceling the reservation.
• Except in the case of “Irregular Operations or a Significant Schedule Change or Delay” (as defined below), if a customer does not contact their Travel Agent or Delta to change or cancel their reservations prior to departure, the unused coupons on their ticket will eventually show a status of “SUSP”. Coupons that are marked as “SUSP” have no further value.
• In the case of Irregular Operations or a Significant Schedule Change or Delay, if a customer does not contact their Travel Agent or Delta to change or cancel their reservations prior to departure, Delta will cancel the ticket and the customer will receive a refund of the unflown portion of the ticket, plus any prepaid ancillary services fees (include paid checked bag fees), back to their original form of payment.

Exception

A customer may contact their Travel Agent after their original departure time and if the flight coupons are still open for use the Travel Agent may be able to assist as follows:

• If the customer is ready to make a change, the reservation may be changed, and the ticket reissued to retain the value of the ticket.
• If the customer is not ready to make a new reservation, please contact Global Sales Solutions or Delta Reservations  for assistance.

However, if the flight coupons are suspended, the ticket has no remaining value.

This exception does not apply to tickets impacted by Irregular Operations or a Significant Schedule Change or Delay. For customers who have missed a flight and are under the Irregular Operations or a Significant Schedule Change or Delay policy, the ticket may be reissued as long as the coupon is still open (i.e., Delta has not begun processing the refund).

Involuntary No Show for Irregular Operations and Schedule Change Events

Tickets impacted by an Irregular Operations event or a Significant Schedule Change or Delay will not be subject to Delta’s No Show Policy. For purposes of this policy, “Irregular Operations or a Significant Schedule Change or Delay” is defined as:

• For tickets issued prior to October 28, 2024, an earlier departure or later arrival of 120 minutes or more
• For tickets issued on or after October 28, 2024, an earlier departure or later arrival of 180 minutes or more for Domestic itineraries or 360 minutes or more for International itineraries*
• Departing from or arriving at a different airport than originally scheduled
• A change in the routing of a scheduled Delta flight which adds one or more stops to the original itinerary
• A downgrade to a lower class of service
• A change in operating carrier, for example from Delta Mainline to Delta Connection carrier, or vice versa
• If a flight cancels

* Where multiple schedule changes may, in the aggregate, result in an earlier departure or later arrival time described above, please contact Global Sales Solutions for assistance.

Questions

Please contact Global Sales Solutions or Delta Reservations  with any additional questions.