A Delta Air Lines aircraft takes off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Nov. 22, 2022. Pilots at Delta Air Lines have a brand new contract with hefty pay will increase. The Air Line Pilots Association stated Wednesday, March 1, 2023 that 78% of Delta pilots who voted supported the contract.

Brynn Anderson/AP

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Brynn Anderson/AP

A Delta Air Lines aircraft takes off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Nov. 22, 2022. Pilots at Delta Air Lines have a brand new contract with hefty pay will increase. The Air Line Pilots Association stated Wednesday, March 1, 2023 that 78% of Delta pilots who voted supported the contract.

Brynn Anderson/AP

ATLANTA — Pilots at Delta Air Lines simply accepted a brand new contract that can increase their pay by greater than 30% over 4 years and certain result in related agreements masking union pilots at different main U.S. airways.

The Air Line Pilots Association stated 78% of Delta pilots who voted supported the contract. Delta has about 15,000 pilots.

Smaller airways face a scarcity of pilots as main airways recruit from their ranks. While the most important carriers say they’ve sufficient pilots, the scarcity has given unions leverage to discount for wealthy pay will increase. The union stated the Delta deal will result in a cumulative $7 billion in pay raises.

The ratification comes after picketing by pilots final summer time and about six months after Delta pilots voted to authorize a strike.

“This industry-leading contract is the direct result of the Delta pilots’ unity and resolve,” stated Darren Hartmann, a pilot and union official.

John Laughter, the Atlanta-based airline’s chief of operations, stated the contract “recognizes our pilots’ contributions to Delta.” He stated the airline got down to attain a deal that retains Delta as a prime vacation spot for aviation staff.

The contract takes impact Thursday and runs by 2026, when it may be amended — by federal regulation, union contracts within the airline trade don’t expire.