Delta Air Lines Heritage

Where Delta Air Lines took its first scheduled passenger flight in 1929

Address Monroe Regional Airport, Monroe, LA

Monroe holds a claim that few cities can match: it is the birthplace of Delta Air Lines, now one of the largest airlines in the world. The company began as a crop-dusting operation, Huff Daland Dusters, before C.E. Wooldridge renamed it Delta Air Service and launched scheduled passenger flights from Monroe on June 17, 1929.

The Monroe Regional Airport has a small display marking the city's aviation heritage, and the local historical society has documented the story extensively. The airport itself — one of the company's earliest hubs — still carries Delta flights, making it one of the few original Delta destinations still served by the airline. For aviation enthusiasts, Monroe is a meaningful stop on any road trip through Louisiana.

things to do sight history
A story
Delta started as a crop-dusting company called Huff Daland Dusters in 1924, spraying cotton fields to kill boll weevils. It pivoted to passenger aviation in 1929 and launched the first scheduled passenger service from Monroe to Dallas. The route carried 5,782 passengers in its first year — a number a single modern Delta flight exceeds in a few days.