Starting Thursday, Delta Air Lines' premium customers and eligible frequent fliers will be welcomed into the award-winning Plaza Premium lounge at London-Heathrow Terminal 2.

Following their temporary move to Terminal 2 from Terminal 3, eligible Delta and Virgin Atlantic customers will be able to enjoy complimentary food and beverages in the Plaza Premium lounge before their flight. Delta offers daily flights between Heathrow and New York-JFK and a three-times-a-week service to Atlanta.

Since the pandemic, Delta has implemented a new level of clean - the Delta CareStandard - so customers can travel with confidence. In line with this ethos, Plaza Premium has also enhanced its cleaning and safety measures so customers can feel confident when they use the lounge before they fly. Customers are also encouraged to wear a face covering and practise social distancing.

"Safety is at the heart of everything we do at Delta and we've implemented additional measures to provide peace of mind for customers at every step of their travel journey," said Shane Spyak, Delta's Vice President - Europe, Middle East, Africa and India. "This includes working with our airport partners across our global network to provide additional layers of protection in lounges."

In the U.S., there are limited Delta Sky Clubs open at Atlanta and New York-JFK airports. Customers will find seating that adheres to social distancing guidelines, plus a streamlined food and beverage offering among the measures being taken to limit touchpoints and keep the Clubs clean.

Delta remains the only U.S. airline offering nonstop service between the U.K. and United States that is keeping middle seats blocked throughout the aircraft on all routes until September 30, 2020, to help protect the health and safety of its customers and crew. Seat blocks are automatically implemented to prevent the adjacent seat being booked once a reservation is complete and seats are chosen. Parties of three or more are able to book seats together, including middle seats.

As part of its COVID-19 health and safety measures, Delta requires employees and customers to wear a face mask or appropriate covering when travelling. The airline also has enhanced booking flexibility in place on flights purchased until August 31, 2020, to provide reassurance to customers should they need to amend their plans. Changing an existing booking is easy via the "My trips" area on delta.com.

Furthermore, the airline has a rigorous onboard cleanliness programme, which includes:

- Sanitizing the aircraft before every flight

- State-of-the-art air circulation systems with HEPA filters that extract more than 99.99% of fine particles in the air, including viruses and bacteria, on all trans-Atlantic flights (and mostly across Delta's network).

- Boarding flights from back-to-front - reducing the instances of customers needing to pass by one another

- Temporarily streamlining onboard food and beverage service to reduce touchpoints

- Providing supplies directly to customers when available, including hand sanitizers in wellness kits

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