Does Delta Air Lines hire people with felonies?

What Delta Air Lines has said

Delta Air Lines hasn't published a policy or program on hiring people with criminal records that we could find on its own pages, and it isn't on the Second Chance Business Coalition member list. Its flight attendant and pilot hiring pages say candidates complete a background check, its flight attendant posting and hiring page also name a drug screening before the first day, and one Atlanta aircraft maintenance technician posting lists a background check with a fingerprint-based criminal history check and a DOT pre-employment drug screen. Two Los Angeles postings we opened (ramp agent and aircraft maintenance technician) say applications from people with arrest or conviction records will be considered under Los Angeles County and California fair-chance laws, and say screening may include criminal, driving and employment history, drug testing and eligibility for an airport security badge under federal rules. The Miami, Orlando, New York and other Atlanta postings we opened don't carry that wording.

• Local fair-chance notice

  Two Delta postings in Los Angeles that we opened on Oct. 31, 2026 (ramp agent and aircraft maintenance technician) say qualified applications with an arrest or conviction record will be considered in line with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act. The ramp agent postings we opened for Miami and Orlando, and the Atlanta, New York and Minneapolis postings we opened, don't carry the sentence.¹

Does Delta Air Lines do background checks?

Delta Air Lines runs background checks for some roles. Delta's flight attendant hiring page says candidates complete a background check and a drug screening before their first day, and its hiring steps list the conditional job offer before the pre-employment step. Its pilot hiring page lists a federally required fingerprint-based criminal history check and a Delta background check, and one Atlanta aircraft maintenance technician posting says applicants must pass a background check that includes a government-required fingerprint-based criminal history check. Two Los Angeles postings say that, depending on the job, a review may include criminal, employment, residential and driving-record history, credential checks, drug testing, references or medical exams, and eligibility for an airport security badge under 49 CFR 1544.229; we saw that list only in postings carrying the Los Angeles fair-chance notice. Delta hasn't published who runs its checks or how far back they look, and most of the postings we opened say nothing about screening.^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8}

• Criminal history
• Drug screen

• How long a background check takes

Does Delta Air Lines drug test?

Delta Air Lines drug tests for some roles. Delta's flight attendant posting (Atlanta) lists a pre-employment Department of Transportation drug test, its pilot hiring page lists a DOT-required pre-employment drug test, one Atlanta aircraft maintenance technician posting lists a DOT-required pre-employment drug screen followed by DOT random drug and alcohol testing, and the Los Angeles postings say a review may include drug testing depending on the job. Delta hasn't published a drug-testing policy for other roles, and the Miami, Orlando, New York and Minneapolis postings and several other maintenance postings we opened don't mention it.^1,2,3,4,5

Rules for specific jobs

• Airline jobs with unescorted access to secure airport areas, passenger or cargo screening, or checked-baggage and cargo handling (federal rule)

  (federal rule) Under TSA's rule for aircraft operators, 49 CFR 1544.229, an airline must make sure a fingerprint-based criminal history check does not show a disqualifying offense before giving a person unescorted access authority, screening duties, or checked-baggage and cargo duties. A disqualifying offense is a conviction, or a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity, for one of the listed crimes in the 10 years before applying. The list includes certain felonies involving theft, burglary, fraud, bribery, violence or threats, and distributing or intending to distribute a controlled substance. People with a covered conviction can't be cleared for those duties, so read the rule or ask the employer which duties a job involves before applying.⁸

• Jobs needing an airport security badge (SIDA) (federal rule)

  (federal rule) A related TSA rule, 49 CFR 1542.209, requires airport operators to make sure no one gets unescorted access to the secure area unless a fingerprint-based check has not shown a disqualifying offense, using the same 10-year lookback for the listed crimes. Delta's ramp agent postings for Los Angeles, Miami and Orlando list the ability to hold an airport security badge (SIDA) among the requirements.⁹

• Pilots

  Delta's pilot hiring page lists a TSA-required fingerprint-based criminal history check and a Delta background check, and a DOT-required pre-employment drug test, among the "other requirements" for pilot applicants.³

• Aircraft maintenance technicians (one Atlanta posting)

  One Atlanta aircraft maintenance technician posting (posted Oct. 30, 2026) says applicants must pass a background check that includes a government-required fingerprint-based criminal history check, and a DOT-required pre-employment drug screen followed by DOT random drug and alcohol testing. Three other maintenance postings we opened don't list these requirements.⁵

• Ramp agents (Miami, Orlando, Los Angeles postings)

  The three ramp agent postings we opened list a physical ability test and the ability to hold an airport security badge (SIDA) and Customs seal. Only the Los Angeles posting has the arrest-or-conviction sentence; it ties it to local and California law.¹

Your rights, and how far back a check can go

• Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), an employer must get your written permission before it gets a background report about you from a background screening company.^16,17,18
• Before an employer decides not to hire, keep, or promote you because of something in a background report, it must give you a copy of the report and a document called "A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act."^16,17
• You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your background report directly with the company that made it.^16,19
• The FCRA's seven-year limit does not apply to criminal convictions, so under federal law a conviction can show up on a background report no matter how old it is.^20,21
• Under the FCRA, background and credit reports generally cannot include arrest records, civil lawsuits, or civil judgments that are more than seven years old (or older than the statute of limitations, if that is longer).^20,22

Your full background check rights

Before you apply

• You can ask a background screening company for the information it has on you, and the CFPB keeps a list of consumer reporting companies, including employment screening companies, with their contact details.^16,19,23
• According to the Clean Slate Initiative, 14 states and Washington, D.C. have passed Clean Slate laws that meet its criteria for automatically clearing eligible records: Pennsylvania, Utah, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware, Virginia, California, Oklahoma, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Illinois, and Missouri, plus D.C.²⁴
• The Federal Bonding Program, run by the U.S. Department of Labor, lets states give employers free fidelity bonds that protect them against losses from a newly hired worker's dishonest acts, for job seekers with past justice involvement or in recovery from substance use.^25,26

See whether you can clear your record in your state