It seems that Delta Air Lines is growing out of its Austin (Texas) base, with the airline announcing a new route to Paris, France.

Delta plans to start the daily service from the 27th March 2027 as a summer seasonal flight. It will be operated by an Airbus A33-900neo with Delta One, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort and Delta Main.

The new route has been launched as part of Delta’s joint venture partnership with Air France-KLM. Beyond nonstop access to Paris, customers will gain one-stop access to nearly 70 destinations across Europe, India and Africa through its Air France-KLM partnership.

According to the airline, popular next stops from Paris include Nice, Marseille, Barcelona, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon, Copenhagen, Geneva and Milan.

Through Delta’s joint venture partnership with Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic, Austin customers can enjoy extensive connectivity beyond Europe. Together, Delta, Air France and KLM will offer up to 10 weekly nonstop flights between Austin and Europe during peak summer, with service to both Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam.

On the US side, Delta will also be adding further connectivity to Austin with a new service to San Diego (from the 12th April 2027), whilst Cancun goes year-round and San Jose goes double-daily.

Delta will operate services to around 30 destinations, ramping up to over 35 points at peak times.

In Quotes

Joe Esposito, Executive Vice President – Chief Commercial Officer, said:

“Austin’s growth continues to create new opportunities for customers, and Delta is proud to grow alongside it,” said 

“Launching Austin’s first nonstop service to Paris is a defining milestone, but it’s just one part of our broader investment in the region. From expanded domestic flying to strong international connectivity through our partnership with Air France-KLM, we’re making it easier than ever for customers to connect from Central Texas to destinations around the world.”

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson added:

“Delta has been a catalyst in Austin’s emergence as a global destination, and its new nonstop service to Paris is the latest example of its commitment to connecting our city with the world,” said 

“Austin and Paris are united by a spirit of culture, creativity, and discovery, and this new route will bring our communities closer together while creating new opportunities for people to experience all that makes our city special. We’re grateful for Delta’s continued investment in Austin and its role in helping our city shine on the global stage.”

More Coverage for Delta

For Delta, it’s another link between the US and Europe, with Paris well served by the airline, with Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul,  New York–JFK, Salt Lake City and  Seattle/Tacoma, as well as upcoming Austin for the summer.

And there’s enough competition to Austin too, with both British Airways (London) and Lufthansa (Frankfurt) operating flights to Austin as well, providing choice and competition across the pond, whilst KLM is there offering additional coverage to Europe through its Amsterdam Schiphol hub.

Given Virgin Atlantic retreated from Austin, it seems that Delta is trying to make Austin a focus city in its network – and with 30 destinations and 70 flights a day, that’s a significant number.

But seemingly not significant enough to grant it a full year-round route at this time – something I think the airport would have found disappointing.

I suspect Delta will be watching the numbers very carefully and checking that its new summer route between Austin and Paris can at least pay for itself, and ideally be in a position to thrive beyond the first seasonal operation.

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The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday restored several pieces of a 2021 Texas election law that overhauled mail-in and assisted voting, overturning a lower court’s block on those provisions.

Five years ago, Texas passed Senate Bill 1, a wide-reaching election law that changed the way local officials administer elections and how some Texans vote, particularly aimed at initiatives Harris County implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. The law was denounced by voter advocacy groups, civil rights organizations and Democratic lawmakers, who broke quorum in an attempt to stifle the bill.

After several lawsuits over accessibility concerns created by the new law were consolidated into a single suit, a district judge in March 2025 struck down nine of its provisions. Those blocked provisions included requiring Texans to provide an identification number or social security number on mail in ballot applications and have them match the state’s records. The judge also blocked provisions that create processes for curing defective ballots and require voters and those who assist them in filling out their ballot to sign an oath swearing they did not coerce the voter and disclose how they’re related.

The plaintiffs who sued argued the provisions were overly cumbersome and restrictive for voters with disabilities, and the district judge agreed, ruling they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Texas allows voters who are over the age of 65 and those with certain disabilities, among others, to vote by mail.

Wednesday’s 11-page ruling from the Fifth Circuit reverses the district judge’s ruling in its entirety, finding that the plaintiffs lacked standing on most of their complaints. The written opinion strongly rebuked the lower courts’ decisions in the suit, noting that appellate judges have “reversed the district court on everything” through the suit’s five years of litigation.

“The bulk of the plaintiffs’ claims fail for lack of standing. One fails on the merits. But none justifies interference with the State Legislature’s efforts to prevent voter fraud and to protect election integrity,” Judge Andrew Oldham wrote in the opinion.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is a defendant in the suit, described the ruling as a “major victory” in a social media post.

The ruling also asserts that mail-in ballots have “long been established” as prone to fraud, and notes that the number of mail-in application or mail-in ballot rejections caused by identification numbers errors dropped from 11% to 2.7% after the law’s implementation. A 2022 study found that 1 in 7 voters in the 2022 primary had their applications or ballots rejected in the wake of SB 1.

This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

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According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the suspect died after being shot by the Texas Rangers.

A spokesperson for the Fort Worth Fire Department confirmed that an ambulance was stolen from one of its stations near Cobb Park Wednesday night.

The Austin Police Department posted on X Thursday morning that the upper deck of I-35 would be closed for several hours because of “an active law enforcement incident involving DPS.”

The Texas Department of Transportation said at 8 a.m. Thursday that all lanes of southbound I-35 from U.S. 183 to Airport Boulevard, including both the upper and lower decks, would be closed.

This is a developing story.