SAVANNAH, Ga., March 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration today recognized Delta Air Lines' (NYSE: DAL) Airport Customer Service and Technical Operations in Savannah, Ga. as its newest Voluntary Protection Programs Star sites. Delta -- the first major airline participant in the VPP program -- now operates 15 airport and aircraft maintenance locations across the United States with the Star site designation. 

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"We are very proud of our Savannah team for their unwavering commitment to Delta's deepest core value -- safety," said Ken Hylander, senior vice president -- Corporate Safety, Security and Compliance. "OSHA's VPP Star status is a great validation of Delta's culture of safety and working together."

Delta's Savannah operation met the multipoint safety and health analysis and successfully completed an intensive on-site inspection by OSHA staff, which included proactive measures to prevent fatalities, injuries and illnesses through a system focused on hazard prevention and control, worksite analysis, training, management commitment and employee involvement. 

The Savannah operation worked for more than a year to earn Star site status. 

Delta began participating in the VPP program in 2001 when its 2.7 million-square-feet Atlanta Technical Operations facility became the first aircraft maintenance base in the industry to earn Star site status. Other locations with Star status include additional facilities in Atlanta; Augusta, Ga.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Columbus, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Melbourne, Fla.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Dayton, Ohio; Ontario, Calif.; and St. Louis. Additionally, Delta wholly owned subsidiary DAL Global Services maintains Star status at Columbus, Ohio; Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Jacksonville, Fla.

OSHA VPP is an initiative designed to recognize workplaces with outstanding safety systems and performance. Less than one percent of the 10 million work sites in the United States share this distinction. In VPP management, employees and OSHA establish cooperative relationships at workplaces that have implemented a comprehensive safety and health management system and have achieved an exemplary record of occupational safety and health among their employees.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. Delta was named by Fortune magazine as the most admired airline worldwide in its 2013 World's Most Admired Companies airline industry list, topping the list for the second time in three years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 319 destinations in 59 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. Delta is investing more than $3 billion in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta and Facebook.com/delta.

SOURCE Delta Air Lines