NC state grant helps Delta Air Lines go electric at RDU airport
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- State awards $268,248 grant to Delta to buy six electric belt loaders at RDU
- Division of Air Quality grant aims to prevent air pollution at the airport.
- Delta has electrified 39% of core ground equipment across its network
Delta Air Lines is among nine businesses and local governments across North Carolina that recently won state grants to help reduce air pollution by replacing diesel-powered vehicles or machinery.
Delta will use $268,248 from the N.C. Division of Air Quality to buy six electric belt loaders used to get luggage on and off planes at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The airline plans to retire six diesel belt loaders, leaving it with about a dozen diesels still in use at RDU, according to the airline.
Each year, the state awards grants to reduce pollution from diesel-powered “mobile sources,” including trucks, buses, lawnmowers and construction equipment. The money comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act program, created by Congress in 2005.
Altogether, the state awarded $1.14 million in grants this year. Other recipients include the town of Carrboro, which received $6,951 to replace a utility terrain vehicle with an electric model.
With each grant award, the Division of Air Quality lists the estimated amount of pollution it will prevent. In the case of Delta’s belt loaders, the state estimates emissions reductions over the liftime of the machines of 1,316 tons of carbon dioxide, 3.36 tons of nitrogen oxides and 560 pounds of small particulates.
Delta has bought more than 2,000 electric belt loaders, bag tractors and other ground equipment across its network since 2020, according to Jesse Miers, Delta’s director of fleet operations. About 39% of core ground support equipment is now electric, Miers said.
The transition to electric will help the company achieve its goal of producing net zero carbon emissions by 2050, Miers said. The state grant helps accelerate that process at RDU, he said.
Last year, the company received $132,420 from the same grant program to help replace four pieces of diesel equipment at RDU with electric ones.
This story was originally published October 7, 2025 at 9:55 AM.
