Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation's No. 3 carrier, ended days of suspense Wednesday by announcing it would cut 13,000 jobs and reduce its flight schedule by 15 percent as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

With the cuts, Delta joins every major U.S. air carrier except Southwest Airlines Co. in slashing jobs and schedules in the aftermath of the attacks by hijacked airliners that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York and damaged the Pentagon outside Washington. The attacks led to the shutdown of U.S. commercial aviation for two days, the introduction of costly security measures, and left many too afraid to fly. Congress and President Bush approved a $15 billion aid package for airlines earlier this week in an effort to stave off bankruptcies. Delta's job cuts come on top of about 100,000 jobs cuts already announced so far by the ten biggest U.S. carriers. Last week, American announced it would to lay off at least 20,000 employees; United, 20,000; and Northwest, 10,000. Also, Boeing announced it was laying off up to 30,000 employees by the end of next year. Atlanta-based Delta last week had said it would be unveiling job cuts as part of moves to reduce the size of its operations by 15 to 20 percent.