Great Lakes commencing air service in N.D., Minn.

UTU-represented pilots and flight attendants at Great Lakes Airlines received good news with the announcement that the carrier would be taking over service in North Dakota and Minnesota from Delta Air Lines.

Delta had been serving Devils Lake, N.D., but switched from turboprop aircraft to regional jets. The airport’s runway is not long enough for the jets to land in windy weather, so Great Lakes’ turboprops, and crews, won the business.

Delta also had been serving Brainerd, Minn., and Great Lakes will also be taking over that service.

Dates of the takeovers have yet to be announced, but officials at both Delta and Great Lakes said they were cooperating to make the changeover as seamless as possible.