ATLANTA- Delta Air Lines (DL) faces a race discrimination lawsuit after terminating 15 ground workers at Miami International Airport (MIA) following an investigation into potential fraud involving Cuba-bound flights to José Martà International Airport in Havana (HAV).
The carrier operates daily service between Miami and Havana, and in 2025 it operated as many as two daily flights on the route.
According to PYOK, the investigation examined how the flights were being handled, including seat assignments, excess baggage payments and ticket sales through travel agencies.
Current schedule data also shows Delta operating daily Miami-Havana service in October 2026.
Delta Fires 15 Miami Airport Workers
Delta began investigating its Cuba-bound departures from Miami after concerns arose about how several parts of the ground operation were being managed.
The review included the assignment of seats at the gate, the processing of payments for excess luggage and the handling of ticket sales through travel agencies.
Annette Feliciano, who is originally from Puerto Rico, had worked for Delta for 27 years when the airline terminated her employment in 2025.
At the time, she was working as one of Delta’s Red Coats, employees responsible for boarding aircraft and managing flight departures.
Feliciano regularly worked a range of Delta flights from Miami, including the airline’s Cuba services. Her involvement in the investigation eventually led to questions about her interactions with travel agencies and her handling of passenger payments.
In May 2025, Feliciano was brought into a meeting and says she was accused of colluding with travel agencies that sold tickets for Cuba-bound flights.
Feliciano says an audit found no wrongdoing. She nevertheless says Latino employees assigned to the Cuba flights continued to face heightened scrutiny in the weeks that followed.
The investigation then focused on baggage payments, particularly the way Feliciano regularly processed cash payments from passengers. Supervisors also questioned her about whether she had accepted gifts such as coffee or pastries from passengers traveling to Cuba.
Feliciano told her supervisors that passengers on Cuba flights often paid excess baggage charges in cash. She also said she understood that employees were prohibited from accepting monetary compensation from passengers, but believed there was no rule prohibiting employees from accepting food or drinks.
Delta Suspended and Later Fired Feliciano
After the questioning, Delta took disciplinary action against Feliciano. She was instructed to empty her locker, escorted to the employee parking area and had her employee identification badge confiscated.
She was then suspended without pay. Several months later, she learned that Delta had terminated her employment.
Feliciano subsequently discovered that 14 of her coworkers had also been fired as part of the broader employment action involving employees assigned to the Cuba flights.
13 of 15 Workers Were Latino
The racial makeup of the group is a central part of Feliciano’s lawsuit. According to the complaint, all but two of the 15 terminated employees were Latino.
One of the other employees was of South African origin and married to a Cuban. The other was an American citizen who spoke fluent Spanish.
Feliciano’s lawsuit alleges that she experienced repeated discriminatory comments, heightened scrutiny, disparate treatment and baseless accusations during her employment with Delta.
The complaint does not state the reason Delta ultimately gave for terminating Feliciano. She alleges that any explanation offered by the airline for the adverse employment actions would be a pretext for unlawful discrimination.
Lawsuit Includes Several Employment Claims
Feliciano’s legal claims extend beyond race discrimination. She has also accused Delta of age discrimination, retaliation and creating a hostile work environment.
The allegations have not been established as findings of fact. The lawsuit represents Feliciano’s claims against Delta, and the underlying dispute remains subject to the legal process.
The case therefore centers on two related questions: what Delta’s investigation found about the handling of Cuba-bound flights, and whether the employment actions taken against the workers were based on legitimate workplace concerns or discriminatory treatment, as Feliciano alleges.
Cash Baggage Payments
The handling of excess baggage payments is one of the most specific issues described in Feliciano’s account.
Her position was that Cuba-bound passengers commonly paid baggage charges in cash. She also distinguished between monetary compensation, which she said she knew employees could not accept, and small items such as coffee or pastries.
That distinction became significant after supervisors questioned her about passenger gifts and cash transactions. The complaint does not establish that these actions constituted proven fraud or wrongdoing by Feliciano.
Separate American Airlines Cuba Flight Lawsuit
The Delta case is not the only employment lawsuit involving a ground worker at Miami International Airport who regularly handled Cuba flights.
The original report also identifies a separate lawsuit involving an American Airlines ground worker who worked Cuba services and was fired after being accused of improper conduct on those flights.
The two cases are separate legal matters, and the available information does not establish that they are connected. Their shared setting is Miami International Airport and ground operations involving flights to Cuba.
What Delta Case Alleges
Feliciano’s case puts the airline’s treatment of employees assigned to Cuba flights at the center of the dispute.
The complaint alleges that Latino workers faced increased scrutiny and unequal treatment during and after Delta’s investigation.
The case also raises questions about the basis for Feliciano’s termination because the complaint does not identify a stated reason for the dismissal. Feliciano argues that any justification provided by Delta was a pretext for discrimination.
At this stage, the claims remain allegations. Any determination about whether Delta violated employment law will depend on the evidence and the outcome of the legal proceedings.
Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.
Join us on Telegram Group for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on Google News
