Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) has not completely retired its fleet of DC-9-50s reports via social media suggest. The US mega-carrier had officially withdrawn the type from active service on January 6. However, according to the MD-80.com website, "at least" two DC 9-50s, N779NC (msn 48101) and N782NC (msn 48107) have been retained as back-up aircraft on flights to and from Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson while the twinjet's replacement, the B717-200, is gradually phased into service. The DC-9s are due to definitively exit Delta's fleet on January 22, 2014. As recently reported by ch-aviation, PAWA Dominicana (Santo Domingo Las Américas) is set to acquire twenty of the machines for use in resuming operations.