Delta said on Monday it plans to hire more than 1000 pilots by next summer, the latest move by an airline to cater to a rebound in travel demand.

John Laughter, Delta's director of operations, said in a memo to employees that domestic leisure travel in the US was expected to return to levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic this month. He said transatlantic travel restrictions should be relaxed in the second half of this year, given the recent market openings in Spain, France, Italy and Greece.

At the height of the epidemic last year, about 20 per cent of Delta employees retired early or left voluntarily, and more than half took unpaid leave at different times.