Aruba, Jamaica, and … St. Maarten, Delta wants to take ya, Minnesotans.
It might not rhyme quite like the Beach Boys, but that shouldn't matter to Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) flyers with their eyes on a Caribbean getaway next winter as Delta adds two exciting new routes. The airline announced Friday it will resume nonstop service from Minneapolis to Aruba (AUA) while also adding back nonstop flights to St. Maarten (SXM).
Both routes aren't technically new … but it's been years since Delta offered nonstops to either Caribbean destination. They'll both operate twice a week starting in December, running through the winter. The new flights are expected to go on sale Saturday.
- Nonstop service to Aruba (AUA) will operate on Fridays and Saturdays from Dec. 20 through April 13, 2025
- Delta will operate direct flights to St. Maarten (SXM) on Thursdays and Saturdays from Dec. 19 through April 12, 2025
With those two new routes, Minneapolis-based travelers will have their pick of warm-weather destinations to escape the winter.
Delta is also bringing back nonstop flights to other popular destinations throughout the Caribbean and Central America, including last winter's addition of Turks and Caicos (PLS) and a recent announcement that it'd resume nonstops to Mazatlán (MZT), a Mexico route the airline cut years back. The carrier is also adding more weekly winter flights to San Juan (SJU) and Grand Cayman (GCM) while continuing all its regular routes to destinations in Mexico like Cancún (CUN) and Puerto Vallarta (PVR), Punta Cana (PUJ) in the Dominican Republic, Montego Bay (MBJ) in Jamaica, and more.
“As the leading carrier from MSP to Latin America and the Caribbean, we're looking forward to increasing our seats to these popular destinations, offering unmatched convenience and expanded choices for our customers,” Joe Esposito, Delta’s Senior vice president of network planning, said in a statement. “With the addition of Aruba, St. Maarten and recently added Mazatlán, customers have three brand-new sunny destinations to look forward to this winter.”
But Delta won't be flying winter-weary Minnesotans alone on these routes: Minneapolis-based low-cost carrier Sun Country already flies nonstop to all these destinations. That's no accident.
Sun Country has set out to turn Minneapolis into a “two-airline market” but has faced headwinds in its Midwestern hub lately as Delta goes tit-for-tat with route announcements like these and crafty pricing tactics to poach its price-conscious customers.
While new Caribbean getaways might be the headline items, Delta has more up its sleeve for next winter.
The airline also announced Friday it's adding new winter seasonal service between Orlando (MCO) and London (LHR). Those nonstop flights will operate four times a week, starting Oct. 26 and running until March 29, 2025.
Bottom Line
Delta is launching seasonal flights from Minneapolis to two more Caribbean destinations this winter when it kicks off nonstop service to both Aruba and St. Maarten.
Those new routes give Minneapolis-based travelers and Delta diehards more options than ever for warm weather getaways next winter.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to note that Delta previously operated flights from Minneapolis to St. Maarten as well as Aruba.