Background
Since December 2025, the MEC and your elected local council union representatives have received an increasing number of reports of ARCOS anomalies. That date coincided with an update in the application that significantly altered the application’s user interface.
The Delta MEC Scheduling Committee has identified a serious user interface issue that affects the core operation of the ARCOS app: the acceptance or rejection of rotation proffers. The Scheduling Committee identified the potential issue as early as October 2025, and asked the Company at that time to add an additional confirmation step to the award process, the same safeguard that already exists when a pilot declines a proffer. However, the Company chose not to implement this safeguard.
The Company made significant updates to ARCOS in December 2025, and again in March 2026 with the rollout of Quick Slips, but clearly did not prioritize the award-confirmation step during either update.
Initially, the interface deficiency did not present a significant issue. However, with the unprecedented amount of open time, as well as the addition of an additional step in rotation coverage (Quick Slips), the sheer volume of ARCOS transactions has exposed a significant liability for pilots.
Rather than choosing the path of least resistance and addressing the issue as a technical problem and resolving the issue with the software vendor, the Company has made the decision to treat this software issue as a pilot-initiated event to be “corrected” with pilot-specific discipline on an ad hoc basis.
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To date, the Company has not implemented a solution, which has caused delays for our Delta passengers and needlessly subjected our fellow Delta pilots to discipline, including suspensions in some cases, for failing to report for an award they are unaware of caused by a an issue known to Delta.
Rather than working to hold their own vendor accountable and resolve the app issue, the Company has chosen to devote their resources and personnel to investigating and disciplining pilots who had rotations that were not intentionally acknowledged or, more significantly, continuing to pursue discipling pilots when the Company acknowledged the error in the award.
When a rotation is awarded to your schedule, the app does not provide a reliable confirmation step or a dependable indication that an award has occurred. An action as simple as “swiping up” to close the app may result in the inadvertent selection of the save icon and the app reporting that a pilot has “acknowledged” trips they are unable or unwilling to fly without the pilot realizing the rotation is even on their schedule.
It is the recommendation of the MEC and your elected local council union representatives that pilots use extreme caution when interacting with the ARCOS App until Delta decides correcting the error is worthy of their attention. Alternatively, pilots are encouraged to use the ARCOS Voice Response System.
If you choose to continue using the ARCOS App in lieu of the more reliable IVR (voice system), please exercise caution:
- If you receive a proffer for flying you have the contractual right to decline, you may simply take no action since any interaction with the app currently carries the known risk of unintended acceptance.
- The safest course is to avoid opening or interacting with ARCOS whenever you do not intend to accept a proffer.
- Nothing here should discourage you from accepting flying you are willing and able to fly. This is simply about protecting yourself until Delta corrects the interface while preserving your contractual rights.
IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE THE ARCOS APP, PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION.
To better understand how the ARCOS windows work and the effect of your selections, review the SRH, the ARCOS Mobile Plus User Guide, and the User Guide Supplement.