Delta plans to hire 1,300 pilots and 2,500 flight attendants next year

Pensacola, Florida -- Former Ace camp student and now Delta pilot Jerome Wellons answers questions from the media during the 20th annual Delta Air Lines' "dream flight" aviation Summer camp in Pensacola, Tuesday, July 16, 2019. (Alyssa Pointer/alyssa.pointer@ajc.com)

Credit: Alyssa Pointer / AJC

Credit: Alyssa Pointer / AJC

Pensacola, Florida -- Former Ace camp student and now Delta pilot Jerome Wellons answers questions from the media during the 20th annual Delta Air Lines' "dream flight" aviation Summer camp in Pensacola, Tuesday, July 16, 2019. (Alyssa Pointer/alyssa.pointer@ajc.com)

Delta Air Lines plans to hire more than 1,300 pilots in 2020, which the company said is its largest round of hiring in a single year in more than two decades.

Atlanta-based Delta said it will be hiring pilots for crew bases in Atlanta, New York, Minneapolis, Detroit, Seattle and elsewhere.

The airline said it's part of a broader effort to hire more than 8,000 pilots over the next decade as pilots retire, and as the company grows with a record number of customers.

Delta also plans to hire at least 2,500 flight attendants in 2020, the highest in the airline's 95-year history.

MORE: