The other part is when IROPS happen, the interior hubs (mostly DTW & MSP) have had their schedules scrapped way too thin, so there is often no ability to reroute. When a MKE-LGA nonstop is cancelled, there aren’t enough frequencies and seats between say MKE-DTW to make a one stop re-routing possible for days, which didn’t used to be the case.
Not only has the reliability and customer service taken a hit, but the DL flight schedules have actually gotten worse in 2022 vs 2021. Even though less people wanted to fly last year, DL actually had better schedules in both DTW & MSP in 2021 vs 2022, which previously helped a lot in the event of IROPS .