1,700 companies and over 180,000 new jobs make the USA a job engine and key economic partner for North Rhine-Westphalia. The imminent reopening of the direct flight route between Düsseldorf and Atlanta is therefore all the more important. After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Delta Air Lines will be letting its planes take off again for the route from May 2023.
"This is good news for Düsseldorf as a business location," said Mayor Stephan Keller. For many companies in the region, the airport in Atlanta with its numerous connecting flights was an important business hub. But the reopening is also positive for U.S. companies as a significant proportion of their business in Europe is driven from Düsseldorf and the surrounding area.
Felix Neugart, CEO of NRW.Global Business, points out the advantages of the route: "Direct flights to the USA have been enormously important for NRW as a business location for many years. For NRW companies, the USA is an extremely interesting market – also due to the recent investment package in the energy turnaround. It's the same the other way around, so we're very pleased that Delta is resuming service to its Atlanta hub."
The city, state and business community had campaigned intensively to have the flight resumed. For example, NRW.Global Business, the Düsseldorf Office of Economic Development and the Düsseldorf Chamber of Commerce and Industry communicated the economic importance of the flight connection with Delta Air Lines during the Atlanta delegation trip in March 2022. And they were successful: Three outbound and three inbound flights a week are expected to allow economic activities to flourish again soon.
Only last December, NRW.Global Business opened an international office in Atlanta. This makes North Rhine-Westphalia the first German state to have a representative office in the metropolitan region. The goal is to intensify relations with the economically strong southeast of the USA.
