Delta Air Lines Fires 15 Miami Ground Workers After Cuba Flights Fraud Investigation
Delta Air Lines has terminated 15 ground workers at Miami International Airport following an investigation into potential fraud on Cuba-bound flights.
By The Aviation Hub
4 min read
Delta Air Lines is facing a race discrimination lawsuit after terminating 15 ground workers at Miami International Airport (MIA) following an internal investigation into potential fraud on Cuba-bound flights. The case centres on the airline's daily service between Miami and Havana's José Martí International Airport (HAV).
According to Paddle Your Own Kanoo, Delta was operating up to two daily services to Havana in 2025, the year in which the terminations took place. The investigation examined how those departures were being managed on the ground.
What Delta's Investigation Covered
Aviation A2Z reports that the review focused on three areas of the ground operation: the assignment of seats at the gate, the processing of payments for excess luggage, and the handling of ticket sales through travel agencies.
Delta began the investigation after concerns arose about how parts of the Cuba operation were being run. The probe eventually drew in 15 employees who had been regularly assigned to those departures.
Who Was Terminated and Why She Is Suing
Annette Feliciano, originally from Puerto Rico, had worked for Delta for 27 years when the airline terminated her employment in 2025. She was working as one of Delta's Red Coats, employees responsible for boarding aircraft and managing flight departures, at the time of her dismissal.
In May 2025, according to Paddle Your Own Kanoo, Feliciano was brought into a meeting and told she was accused of colluding with travel agencies selling tickets for Cuba-bound flights. She says an audit found no wrongdoing, but heightened scrutiny of Latino workers assigned to those flights continued in the weeks that followed.
Supervisors then questioned Feliciano about her practice of processing excess baggage payments in cash, and whether she had accepted gifts such as coffee or pastries from Cuba-bound passengers. She told her supervisors that cash payments were common on those flights and that, while she knew employees could not accept monetary compensation from passengers, she believed accepting food or drink was not prohibited.
How the Dismissal Unfolded
Following the questioning, Delta instructed Feliciano to empty her locker, escorted her to the employee car park and confiscated her ID badge. She was suspended without pay and learned several months later that she had been fired.
Feliciano subsequently discovered that 14 of her coworkers had also been terminated as part of the same action. Aviation A2Z notes that all but two of the 15 dismissed employees were Latino. One of the remaining two was of South African origin and married to a Cuban national; the other was an American citizen who spoke fluent Spanish.
The Discrimination Claims Against Delta Air Lines
Feliciano's lawsuit alleges that she experienced "repeated discriminatory comments, heightened scrutiny, disparate treatment, and baseless accusations" during her employment, according to Paddle Your Own Kanoo. She argues that any explanation Delta offers for her dismissal would be a pretext for unlawful discrimination.
Her legal claims extend beyond race discrimination. She has also accused Delta of age discrimination, retaliation and creating a hostile work environment. The complaint does not state the reason Delta gave for terminating her employment.
It is important to note that these are allegations. No findings of fact have been made, and the dispute remains subject to the legal process.
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A Separate Case at the Same Airport
The Delta lawsuit is not the only employment case involving a ground worker at Miami International Airport who regularly handled Cuba flights. Paddle Your Own Kanoo also reports that American Airlines is facing a separate lawsuit from one of its ground workers at MIA, who also worked Cuba services and was fired after being accused of improper conduct on those flights.
Aviation A2Z notes that the two cases are separate legal matters and that the available information does not establish any connection between them beyond their shared setting of Miami International Airport and ground operations on Cuba routes.
The Bottom Line
The central questions in Feliciano's case are whether Delta's investigation was conducted fairly and whether the decision to terminate 15 workers, the vast majority of them Latino, was based on legitimate workplace findings or discriminatory treatment. The composition of the group that was dismissed is likely to be a significant factor as the case progresses through the courts.
Delta has not been found to have violated employment law, and any such determination will depend on the evidence presented during legal proceedings. The case puts a spotlight on how airlines manage ground operations on routes where cash transactions and travel agency relationships are common features of the passenger mix.
We will update our coverage if Delta Air Lines or any other party to the proceedings releases further information.
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